


never look away

by shamusiel



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Bad Flirting, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, Trans Dande | Leon, Trans Leon, Trans Male Character, marked E for like one single sex scene thats not even that long in one chapter, other than that its sfw with some mild vague mentions of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:27:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22327846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shamusiel/pseuds/shamusiel
Summary: What happens when a god of storms finds himself falling in love with the Champion—the gods' Champion, the peoples' Champion? When love seemed like such a distant concept, idea, to him, something only mortals worry themselves over.But it takes only one man to turn his whole worldview upside down, doesn't it?
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 57
Kudos: 414





	1. i, far removed from myself

**Author's Note:**

> though my youth did mislead, i would [retreat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX3uMbROMg8) to you.

What is love to a god?

Can it be defined in mortal terms? Do gods love as mortals do? A question that never really crossed Raihan’s mind before, even though he has been alive for a very long time, even though he has shared a bed with mortals and immortals alike. Maybe all he feels for humans is a simple fascination, with little desire to actually befriend them.

All he needs is in the realm of the gods where he can do as he pleases, have what he pleases so long as he plays his role when necessary. Keeping the weather stable, whipping up storms only to clear them up later, letting rain heal dry earth, letting sun give life to wilting flowers. Occasionally his dragon scouts will return to him to report their findings, to update him on the state of the lands.

This is all he has ever had to worry about.

Until _he_ comes along.

At first, Raihan takes no real notice of him. A boy ten years of age and not entirely himself yet beginning his training as a warrior for the people of Galar, after his father met an untimely end during a war long since past. At thirteen, that boy choosing a name for himself that was strong, courageous— _Leon._ Fitting for what he is and what he will become over the years.

At sixteen, that boy begins seeking the guidance of the gods.

He starts making long treks to altars, leaving offerings for each god, kneeling before them and whispering his requests. He needed to know, _just how can I make Galar safe? How can I help the people live in peace?_ And that, that is what grabs the attention of the gods, that is what causes them to continue to watch him, watch him learn and grow.

They begin to give Leon quests, missions, things for him to do for him to build trust between him and them, between him and the people of Galar. Quests that earn him handsome rewards in the form of money, armor, food, even the medicine he needs to truly be _himself._ It is not without its risks, however, for he puts his young life on the line far too many times. Yet it’s never for his sake, it’s always the sake of others.

“Dangerously selfless,” Opal had said once as she wove the stars into place. “He may be dead before he even reaches his eighteenth year.”

He isn’t.

Not long after Leon’s eighteenth, Raihan truly begins to keep an eye on him. Leon has surpassed all of their expectations, lived longer than any of them thought he would. And in such a short span of time he has become a hero among the people, refuses to align himself with any god in particular and instead call himself the Champion of Galar—or, that is what the Galarian people call him, and it is a title that he accepts.

“I should give him something, shouldn’t I?” Raihan asks Nessa one day after Leon had prayed to _him_ specifically, asking for strength in an impending battle, for the power of storms to be on his side. He eyes the pool of glittering water which reflects Leon’s kneeling figure back to him.

He’s grown handsome, with his wild mane of purple hair, bright golden eyes, his jawline sharp and defined further by the beginnings of a beard, his shoulders and chest broad, his body fit like a warrior’s should be. Despite his shorter stature, he is nigh impossible to bring down in battle. There have been so many who have tried to end his reign as the strongest in Galar, but they always fail. He truly is a Champion to the people, a Champion to the gods.

“What were you thinking?” Nessa asks from where she lies in the grass on her back beside him, her hair pooling around her head. She commands a ball of water in her palm, which thins out into a thin rivulet that she twists around her finger.

“A dragon egg, maybe,” he hums.

“Wow.” The water vaporizes and Nessa sits up. “You would give up one of your scouts for him?”

Raihan huffs. “It’s not the first time I’ve given a mortal an egg before.”

“Sure, but how long has it been?”

He’s silent. He won’t look at her.

“Raihan.”

“Five hundred and seventy two years,” he grumbles, folding his arms over his chest, tucking his nose into his fur hood and hoping that the heat flooding his cheeks isn’t noticeable. Nessa reaches over to pinch one of his cheeks anyway, so she’s obviously going to be able to feel it.

Raihan’s eyes flicker back to the pool, which has gone back to looking like its usual golden, Leon having left the altar. “It doesn’t mean anything,” Raihan defends himself weakly. “He’s done so much, and I’ve never rewarded him before.”

“Maybe send a love letter while you’re at it,” Nessa teases. Raihan scowls at her. “Just give him your blessing for his battle tomorrow, okay? If he survives, give him an egg. It might prove useful to him in the future. Besides…”

Her eyes trail to the pool of water and she reaches out, her fingertips gliding over the surface. A moment later, Leon comes back into view. The Champion has his hood pulled tight over his head, his shoulders hunched as he rushes through the rain from the altar back to shelter, his boots splashing in puddles.

“Even a Champion needs companionship, don’t you think? So many people looking up to you, but how many are really _with_ you? Cheering you on, but never truly knowing you. Plus, dragons _do_ make great friends.” She winks at him.

Raihan’s lips press tightly together. As he watches the image of Leon rushing through the rain, he can’t help but act. A slight twitch of his fingers and the gray clouds begin to disperse. The sun breaks through them, the rain ceases its downpour, and Leon is coming to a stop then. The Champion looks up at the sky, his big eyes widening and a boyish grin breaking out over his face. He looks _happy._ Raihan tries to ignore the feeling it ignites in his chest. The image fades as Leon finally ducks into an inn.

—

The following day, the gods sit and watch Leon’s battle. The storms are on Leon’s side, just as he requested; the sky is clear, the sun is shining—not too harsh, but enough to bask everything in a comfortably warm glow. The giant beast he faces emerges from its dark cave, unwinding its long, purple, spiky body. Venom oozes from its fangs and it lets out a piercing shriek.

Raihan watches, unblinking, _fascinated_ as Leon alternates between his blade and his bow. He moves with grace that one often does not see in a warrior, his movements fluid, practiced, because from what everyone has seen Leon hardly ever affords himself a break even if he needs one. Always training, fighting, seeking to do good but never taking _himself_ into account. _Dangerously selfless,_ right.

Leon lunges from a boulder and, midair, notches an arrow and fires it. It hits the beast in one eye, breaking through the red, translucent scales that shields them, and it’s enough of a distraction that the Champion can land on its back and draw his sword again, keeping his other hand gripping one spine so he doesn’t fall off. And he drives the blade into its neck, blood spurting up around it, the creature wailing and thrashing, trying to get Leon from its back, trying to knock loose the blade.

The Champion merely pushes it in further. After another few moments of struggle, the beast collapses to the ground, still as a statue. Leon waits to make sure the beast is truly dead before he gets off of it. Dark blood stains his hands, his arms, glistens on his armor. It spurts out as he pulls the sword from the creature’s neck, and then sprays over his face as he chops the head off. Removing his cloak, Leon wraps the large head up in it and begins his trek back to town.

Raihan releases a deep breath, as do the other gods around him. Leon is safe, relatively unharmed, and is now presenting the head of the beast before the townspeople. Even covered in blood he’s still handsome. Raihan chases away that thought.

When Leon returns to his home that evening he finds a gift awaiting him on his bed, wrapped in dark gray furs to keep it warm. A large, orange dragon egg. Raihan keeps checking the pool to see how Leon reacts to it. First, Leon stares at it from afar, and then he wanders over to look at it up close. Callused hands run over the rough surface of it, rough as the scales of the creature that slumbers within.

When the egg hatches some weeks later, the orange dragon hatchling is the size of a small dog. She coughs out a little flame, smoke rising from her nostrils, and she’s immediately attaching herself to Leon—the first living thing she sees. And the way he treats the dragon is so kind, so loving, immediately rubbing her beneath the chin, behind her horns while she squeaks and rumbles happily. Raihan can only imagine how gentle those hands must be now, and he wonders…

No, it isn’t the time for those kinds of thoughts.

But he thinks he’s grown rather fond of the Champion.

—

“Grown fond” is becoming an understatement.

Leon is twenty-one now, having just celebrated his birthday. He is kind, he is handsome, Galar loves him, the gods admire him. And Raihan… wants him, in some odd way. He watches now how Leon’s muscle shifts beneath his skin when he moves, how his trousers stretch over his legs, the way his hair twirls about his head when he turns. How the sweat shines on his skin when he trains, the two moles on his neck visible when he pulls his hair back into a loose ponytail.

And something dark and ugly rises in his chest whenever he learns of Leon lying with another man again, sharing his bed, arching into touches that could be from Raihan if he wanted them to, panting a name that could be Raihan’s. It’s irrational for him to feel that way—he hasn’t even properly _met_ Leon yet. Does Leon even know the dragon he now regards as his best friend was a gift from Raihan? Well, who else could it be from?

“You’re watching him again,” Nessa comments as she walks by. “Have you ever considered actually meeting him?”

“Why would I?” Raihan replies, shooting her a glare.

“Sick of watching you make moony eyes at him, is all,” she replies, sitting down next to him. A dragon is curled up between them, its head in Raihan’s lap. He gently pats its neck.

“I’m not making moony eyes,” Raihan snaps back. Even though he knows he is. Even though he knows he’s stupidly infatuated by the mortal he now watches.

Nessa pats him on the shoulder. “You don’t even have to tell him who you are. At least, not at first. You can’t lie to him forever.”

For the next few days, Raihan thinks about that. He checks in on Leon occasionally, can’t deny how full his heart feels when he sees Leon smile, or laugh; when he sees Leon interact with children or animals; when he sees Leon interact with his family, who now live comfortably because he always sends most of the gold he gets as rewards to them.

Then, one day, he finally caves.

Leon is to be fighting challengers this afternoon. People aiming to take his title. It might be a little unfair to fight him, considering Raihan is a god and could so easily defeat him without breaking a sweat, but he has to meet him somehow. Sheathing his swords, he descends from the golden realm of the gods and travels down the mountain. Raihan calls one of his dragons to carry him partway to the city, then dismounts when he gets close enough he can walk there—close enough someone could spot him approaching from the sky if he wasn’t careful enough.

Wyndon’s townspeople don’t look twice at him, most of them on their way to the stadium to watch the matches themselves. It feels strange being out here among mortals, when was the last time he allowed himself to do this? When was the last time he left his home? The Great Raihan, the powerful god of storms, mingling with mortalkind. It feels so unlike him. He walks over cobblestone streets, past bakeries and inns and pubs, tosses a few gold coins to beggars he passes and then circles around the back of the stadium. The guards there ask no questions, immediately assuming (correctly) that he’s a challenger.

They announce Leon as he walks out onto the field and the crowd cheers wildly. The man looks radiant, his hair blowing in the breeze, his eyes bright, the sun making his brown skin look like it’s glowing. He sheds his cloak, tosses it aside, and ties his hair back. As they announce his first opponent, he’s fixing the straps of his armor and then drawing his sword.

In these matches, they never aim to kill—merely to disarm. That isn’t to say there were never deaths, but Leon has never killed a single one of his challengers in these sorts of battles. Injured, yes, but never killed, because they were never _truly_ enemies. Most men would not be so kind, so merciful, especially if they had the power he did where they could murder and get away with it.

It shows just how good and fair his heart is.

There are three men ahead of him, and all three are taken down in quick succession. Disarmed within a minute each by Galar’s Champion. Raihan watches closely as Leon moves, the graceful pivots of his heel, the turn of his wrist, how his waist twists. He’s beautiful, for a mortal. No, no need to say that—he’s simply _beautiful._ True beauty is hard to find these days, but Raihan thinks he’s found it in this young man.

When he steps out onto the field, the announcer looks surprised, like he wasn’t expecting a fourth challenger. There is no name to call as Raihan didn’t give his name, and Leon watches him closely. _This is the first time Leon’s ever seen me,_ he thinks as he drops his visor over his face. Behind his own helmet, Leon’s expression is unreadable, but Raihan can see the glint of golden eyes. He can see how his chest heaves with each breath beneath his breastplate, he can see the bead of sweat running down his neck.

The horn blows, and Leon charges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway (blasts zero to hero from the hercules ost)
> 
> sorry this first part's so short, it's mostly just to set things up! but the other chapters... will probably be longer :,)
> 
> HUGE thanks to [senka](http://twitter.com/tepidblood) for helping me actually outline this fic out since i'm hopeless when it comes to completing multichapter fics... but i'll do it this tiiiiimeee
> 
> also i know i didn't make it very clear, but this setting is still very much UK-based.
> 
> thanks for reading!
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/zhamusiel)   
>  [tumblr](http://hellfirecitadel.tumblr.com)


	2. give your heart and soul to charity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A relationship between a god and mortal is a difficult one," Melony says softly, rubbing her thumb over her ring. "We can appear just as human as they are, but we're still much different. But there is still one thing we have in common."
> 
> "Which is?"
> 
> "The ability to love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ain't it like [thunder under earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi6pLTrx94Q), the sound it makes?
> 
> ( this chapter contains explicit sexual content. )

When Leon charges, time around them seems to come to a halt.

Raihan is acting immediately, both of his blades pulled from their sheathes at his hips and raised to block when Leon makes his first strike. It's strong enough to knock even Raihan a little off-balance, but he quickly braces the heels of his boots against the dirt to keep him steady. It doesn't stop him from skidding back from the force of it, however.

Now, up close, Raihan can really take in Leon's size. He's short, much shorter than Raihan—though Raihan towers over even the other gods and pretty much any mortal he meets. From the looks of it, Leon hardly reaches his shoulder. And yet that doesn't stop him from fighting, that doesn't make him back down. Leon’s fought and killed all manner of beasts in his life, disarming a man over a foot taller than him is nothing to him.

Still, Raihan is making it a little unfair by not only being a god but by dual-wielding as well. Now Leon has to knock not one, but _two_ blades out of his hands. This is fun, but Raihan hardly believes that Leon is going to win this. Maybe he's just being arrogant, maybe he's underestimating Leon's abilities, maybe Leon _does_ have the capability to bring even a god to his knees. But Raihan thinks that all Leon would have to do is ask, and he'd drop to his knees in an instant.

They move quickly across the field, dancing in and out of arm's reach, dodging and blocking and parrying blows. And he begins to realize this is lasting much longer than he expected, than anyone expected, because he figured he would be able to bring Leon down quickly, while Leon and the crowd must have thought Raihan would've gone down sooner.

This is taking too long. Time to play a little dirty.

When Leon is moving in close again and Raihan raises his swords, the sound of metal ringing in his ears when Leon strikes again, he pushes forward suddenly and, while Leon is momentarily off-balance, uses the butt of one blade’s hilt to slam into Leon's face. The force knocks Leon's head back, sends his helmet flying, a spray of blood coming from his nose.

But instead of falling, instead of dropping his blade, the fire in Leon’s eyes burns brighter and his teeth are bared in a snarl that stokes something within Raihan's chest. Pride, maybe? Locks of purple hair loose from the ponytail hang in front of Leon's sweaty face, and then suddenly Leon is moving again.

Raihan has no time to react, Leon is lifting one leg up and giving a powerful kick to his abdomen, sending him tumbling backward. Leon balances his sword in one hand and as Raihan falls back, uses his other hand to slam his palm against Raihan's wrist, loosening his grip on one of his blades and forcing it from his grasp. It lands on the ground with a clatter. Raihan keeps his grip tight on his other blade, but once he finds his balance again Leon is striking over and over, ruthless, missing just enough that he won't accidentally disembowel Raihan but still aiming to knock his remaining blade from his hand. Leon walks him backward, landing one blow after the other.

"I can do this all day," he suddenly says, breathless, with a wild sort of grin. It catches Raihan off guard because he didn't expect Leon to _talk_ during this. His voice sounds rough from effort, exertion.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the time," Raihan replies. And he moves forward, a daring motion, aiming to cause Leon to stumble back so he can twist Leon's sword from his grasp while he's distracted, but is instead caught by surprise, yet again, by Leon quickly grabbing him around the waist with one arm and using all his strength to flip him over.

He hits the ground hard, pain shooting up his spine, and then there is a boot on his wrist, forcing his second blade out of his hand. Leon hovers over him, panting and sweaty, his nose still dripping blood and his brows furrowed.

The tip of Leon's sword touches beneath Raihan's chin, tilting it upward so their eyes can meet. Leon just grins. The crowd is going wild for their Champion who won, just as expected, but after a match with someone who was undoubtedly a worthy opponent, truly rival material.

But all Raihan can see is a man illuminated by the glow of the sun, beautiful despite bruises and blood and sweat and dirt caking his face. A man who just bested a _god_ in combat, even if Leon has no clue that the one he stands over now is a god. And Raihan falls for him a little bit more at that moment.

"Good fight," Leon finally says, pulling his sword back and stepping off of Raihan's wrist. He offers his hand and Raihan accepts it, letting Leon help pull him to his feet with a grunt of effort. Leon's palms are callused, unsurprisingly, but still warm, still with some softness here and there. Their hands linger in their hold for a few moments longer than necessary before Raihan thinks to pull away.

"I guess the stories about you are true," Raihan says, which makes Leon blink and smile wider.

After some brief celebratory words on the field, Leon takes his swift leave and Raihan can't help but follow. Beneath the stadium, he watches as a doctor makes quick work of helping Leon with his bloody nose. It's not broken, they say, and the bleeding has stopped. It may just bruise for a while. The blood is mopped up and Leon beams.

Before the doctors take notice of Raihan standing there, he slips away like he's nothing but a shadow in the lantern light.

—

He doesn't go back home yet. Instead, he lingers in Wyndon a while longer, deciding to rent a room at an inn for the night. Is this what they call _stalking_? It isn't like he's actively looking for Leon, he's just kind of… waiting around. Where Leon usually comes the night after one of his matches. The bathhouse in the middle of the city, almost as grand as the one found in Circhester. Most warriors come here after their battles to soothe their sore muscles. So long as you bathe properly beforehand to make sure the water remains clean, anyone can enjoy the baths. Even Raihan knew to follow that rule, using the garderobe in his room at the inn to wash clean of the sweat and grime from battle.

Tonight, there is no one else there but Raihan—for the time being. So, growing tired of waiting around further, he finally just strips himself of his armor and clothing, setting his blades aside, and slips into the water. Ah, is this how mortals feel, then, being able to relax after a long day of hard work? The muscles in his body immediately loosen up, the heat soothing the ache in his spine from when his back hit the ground hard. There had been a lot of strength, a lot of force put into that flip, enough that it made all the air rush out of Raihan’s lungs and he had felt very _human_ at that moment.

If Raihan didn't know any better, after today's events he wouldn't have been surprised if Leon was a god himself.

He sits there for… well, maybe only a few minutes, basking in the comfortable heat of the water, his head tipped back, his arms stretched out over the edge of the bath behind him, and eyes closed. It’s not like he’s tired, gods don’t really get _tired_ in the same sense that humans do, but he is still resting, recuperating from a fight that was far more intense and difficult than he expected it to be.

When he hears the sound of movement behind him, his eyes snap open. Raihan pushes his locs back from his forehead and looks over his shoulder. Leon is standing there, alone, free of his armor and in simple, casual attire, but with his cloak still wrapped around his shoulders. He looks surprised, his already big eyes widening just a little bit more, his lips parted like he wants to say something but aren’t sure what. There are the beginnings of a bruise on his nose.

“Oh,” Leon finally says.

“Oh,” Raihan echoes back to him. They are silent for another minute before Leon lets out a sheepish laugh.

“Sorry, no one else is usually here this time of night,” Leon says, walking forward. There is more movement in the shadows which startles Raihan until he sees what it is—a large, orange dragon that comes walking into view on all fours. She surveys the bathhouse with sharp eyes, which eventually land on Raihan.

He tries to ignore the intense look she gives him, the intense _knowing_ look. It’s only natural for a dragon to be able to sense who he really is; luckily, she can’t speak human tongue herself, just understand it.

Or he hopes she can’t speak. Dragons are tricky creatures—he would know, he created them.

Leon takes notice of the tension immediately. “Ah, she won’t hurt you. She’s just wary of strangers and a little… protective. She may be strict and stern, but she’s very kind!”

“I’m not worried,” Raihan says. Leon looks visibly relieved.

“Really? Good. I’m glad. Anyway, I’ll leave you be. You can pretend we don’t exist.” Leon waves his hand and Raihan can’t help but think, _That’s the last thing I want to do!_

Still, he turns his gaze away as Leon—oh god, Leon is undressing. Leon is naked. Raihan can’t help but glance out of the corner of his eye. Not surprising that Leon has a few scars here and there, standing out against brown skin. Two scars, in particular, catch his eye, cutting across the skin beneath his pectorals.

Raihan tries not to think too much about how Leon’s muscle moves beneath his skin with each of his movements. He tries not to think about how Leon has a figure like an hourglass, so much easier to see without his clothes on: shoulders and chest broad, waist slim, his hips round. He tries not to think about how Leon has thighs he’d love to sink his teeth into, to leave marks with his sharp canines.

Leon slips into the water and sighs heavily, a sound of relief, a sound that’s probably going to haunt Raihan for a while.

Does Leon even recognize him? He had only seen his face for a few moments before Raihan pulled the visor down, so if he doesn’t, then it’d be understandable. But he wants Leon to recognize him, but Leon already said he would leave him alone. So he’s a bit at a loss for what to do, sitting there in the hot water and doing his best not to stare at the man only a few feet away.

Except, after some time, he starts noticing Leon glancing over at him a few times, trying to be subtle about it but failing miserably. The look on his face is curious, and he looks like he wants to say something.

Raihan tries not to laugh too much. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

Leon startles. His blush can’t be entirely blamed on the hot water now.

“I only wanted to ask: haven’t we met before?”

A beat of silence, then, “Yes.”

“Are you…?” Leon trails off.

“Am I what?”

“The man who challenged me earlier today. I never got your name, you left before anyone could ask…” Leon looks a little troubled now that Raihan allows himself to turn to look at him properly. Thankfully, he’s submerged in water from the chest down, so Raihan only has to be worried about getting distracted by the muscles in his chest and arms, and his pretty, pretty face.

A smile curls at Raihan’s lips. “Does my name really matter?”

“I just like to know who my opponents are,” Leon responds. “It makes competition a little more friendly, I think.”

Ah, so Leon is still a little naive, is he? Too romantic, perhaps. Not every person that will attempt to challenge him is looking for friendly competition, many just want to cut him down. Many simply want to take his title, to earn bragging rights so they can tell everyone that _they_ defeated the man blessed by the gods themselves. No matter how kind Leon tries to be with some of these people, their goal will remain the same.

Still…

“Okay,” Raihan pauses, thinking. “Raihan.”

Leon stares at him. “What, like the god?”

Yes, exactly like the god. Because he _is_ the god. But Leon doesn’t have to know that, not yet. Maybe not ever, because Raihan is going to make sure he doesn’t get too carried away. All he wanted to do was meet Leon once, get it out of his system, and carry on with his existence like he usually did.

Except the more he talks to Leon, the more he finds he doesn’t want to stop. This is dangerous.

“My parents were devout worshipers,” Raihan lies, but Leon is oblivious to it.

Leon tilts his head. “It’s a good name for you,” he says. “You’re strong.”

Raihan laughs for real this time, belly-deep. “I know. But not as strong as you, by the looks of it.”

“You almost had me,” Leon admits. “If I had waited for just a second longer before I flipped you, you would’ve beaten me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that.” Is Leon just trying to make him feel better? Who knows. What he does know is Leon is even kinder than he realized, he speaks in a gentle accent practiced over the years but so unlike his accent from his home. Raihan has watched him enough, heard his prayers enough to tell the difference between the two. “I’m not too torn up about losing, anyway.”

Leon looks a little relieved at that. He smiles and nods, sinking down a little further into the water until it reaches his nose and his hair is floating around him.

_Ugh, he’s cute!_

After another stretch of silence, Raihan finally says, “To be honest, I came here because I know you come here after matches.”

Leon perks up immediately, sitting up straight, spitting out a bit of water that got in his mouth. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to…” He rubs the back of his neck. “Meet you.”

Raihan can see how Leon is slowly starting to inch closer to him.

“Get to know you, I guess,” Raihan continues. “Learn more about what’s behind tha—Leon?”

There is a weight hovering over his lap, Leon bracing his hands on the edge of the bath by both sides of Raihan’s head. He straddles him, his eyes narrowed, and it makes Raihan twitch a little in a mix of confusion and—

“Most people that want to just _get to know me_ usually are looking for one of two things,” Leon says. Raihan tries to focus on his face and not on the water running down his neck, his collarbones, and his chest. “To find ways to best me, or to fuck me. Which one are you?”

Raihan isn’t sure how to respond because he never would have seen this sort of reaction coming from even a hundred miles away. He stares with wide eyes, Leon’s gaze burning into him. Sure, fucking Leon would be nice, but that’s not why he’s here. And he’s definitely not here trying to find ways to defeat Leon. Hands curl into tight fists, fighting not to reach out to touch Leon when he’s _so close._

“Neither,” he manages. “I’d just like to be your friend.”

Also not what he really came here to do, it just kind of slips out. Leon tenses up and Raihan wonders if he said something wrong.

Then Leon starts laughing, the sound a little high-pitched and embarrassed, and Leon is pulling away from him to instead sit right beside him.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he laughs. “I— wow, I completely misread the situation. I’m just…” Leon pushes some of his wet hair out of his face. “No one really comes to me looking to be my friend. So I wasn’t… expecting that. I shouldn’t have assumed, I hope you can forgive me.”

Raihan’s brain is still working on catching up with his mouth, and he’s also trying to will his dick down because he can’t deny what just happened turned him on a little bit. Love, lust, two very human things that Raihan is suddenly feeling. This is so embarrassing. After a moment of silence, he finally says, “I forgive you. I imagine it must be hard.”

Leon remains silent.

“People wanting to know you but not really wanting to _know_ you. Just seeing your power and influence and nothing else. It must be lonely.” Raihan glances back down at Leon. Leon doesn’t say anything. “Am I correct?”

The Champion worries his bottom lip with his teeth. “Yes.”

So the Champion of Galar has trust issues, he’s a little insecure. All very human things, and even then it wasn’t what Raihan was expecting. He was expecting Leon to be louder, more arrogant, maybe to even brag a little. Instead, he’s keeping mostly to himself, is kind and humble, and stumbles as any other mortal man would.

Charming.

“I can’t say I understand, but I’m happy to be your friend, if you’ll have me,” Raihan continues.

“Do you think you might challenge me again?” Leon suddenly asks. “It’s been too long since I’ve faced someone as skilled as you. The way you fight, I’ve… I’ve never seen anything like it, you know.”

Raihan blinks, and then he grins so wide his face may very well split in two. “I could say the same about you, Champion.”

“This isn’t about me. Not entirely, at least. I just think it’d be fun if you kept… coming back. We could even spar together sometimes, and—” Leon shuts his mouth when he sees the amused look Raihan is now giving him. “Am I getting too ahead of myself?”

“Not at all,” Raihan says, his grin returning. “I’d be happy to join you.”

Nearby, he hears the dragon rumble softly. She’s staring at him again. “Hopefully your companion there doesn’t mind.”

“Oh, she doesn’t. Hey, Cora—” Leon waves at her. “Settle down, it’s fine.”

The dragon huffs out a plume of smoke.

They remain there in the baths for a little while longer, sometimes talking and sometimes sitting in silence, until Leon finally stands up and steps out, walking quickly across the stone to retrieve a towel to dry himself off. Raihan eyes his backside as he walks.

“I have to be at the stadium early for training tomorrow, so I should be leaving,” Leon explains, wiping himself down. Then he begins to gather his clothes, squirming into his trousers and pulling on his tunic, draping his fur cloak around him and pulling the hood over his head. “It was good meeting you, Raihan. I’ll be seeing you again soon?”

“Definitely,” Raihan agrees. Leon gives him a smile and a wave, and then he’s taking his leave. Raihan watches him climb onto his dragon’s ( Cora is her name if Raihan heard right ) back. The beast rises up, flapping her wings, and then takes to the skies.

Raihan sits there long after Leon is gone, thinking about everything that had just transpired. He’s pretty sure he got too ahead of himself because now Leon is going to be expecting to see him again. And again. And again. He made a promise he’s not even sure he can keep, to be friends with the lonely Champion and, wow, Leon had basically offered himself to Raihan for sex and Raihan _declined._ Sure, he’d love to lay with Leon, but only if Leon really wanted it himself. Not because Leon felt obligated.

He returns to the inn for the night. He doesn’t sleep, doesn’t really need to, just stares up at the wooden rafters above the bed.

In the morning, he passes by the stadium and pokes his head in to watch Leon fire off arrows at multiple targets. Before Leon can see him, he’s ducking away again and makes the trip back to the mountain, easily making his way to the top to the realm of gods.

He still has a lot of thinking to do, and he’s sure Nessa and the others will be thrilled to hear about how the day prior went… if they hadn’t been watching already.

—

The gods are a gossipy bunch, which might come as a surprise to any mortal.

Raihan is barely one step into the golden domain when he’s immediately being accosted by Nessa, her hair flowing like water behind her when she moves towards him. Both of her hands grab his.

“It went well?” She asks.

“Well enough,” Raihan replies, a little sheepish. He tugs his hands away and hides them beneath his cloak. Nessa raises her brows at him, then jerks her chin over her shoulder towards the pools of water they use to watch the world; or, well, to watch specific individuals. Raihan immediately knows what’s coming next, the dread hardly has any time to settle in his gut.

“The Champion tried to seduce you—” Okay, she says that a little too loud, and nearby Bea, who was in the midst of gathering brightly colored berries, startles for once in her immortal life and drops her basket. “Ah, sorry, Bea!”

Bea scrunches her nose up and begins tossing the berries back into the basket.

Raihan shakes his head. “No, he didn’t. Not… really.”

“What’s that mean, then?”

He pauses, thinking carefully over his next words. Raihan doesn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea about Leon, paint him in an unsavory light, even though he knows the gods know better than to think badly of the peoples’ Champion. Not a mean, bad bone in his body, after all.

“I said I wanted to get to know him,” he explains. “He thought that meant something else.”

“Sex?”

“That, or I wanted to learn how to defeat him.” He pauses. “I just told him it was neither. I wanted to be friends. He apologized for misreading the situation. He…”

Raihan covers his face with his hands. “Nessa, he’s adorable when he’s embarrassed.”

Nessa stares at him, then grins. “And _you’re_ adorable when you’re in love… and a little insufferable. So what are you going to do?”

“Fight him again, I guess,” Raihan replies, pushing a hand through his locs. “He asked if I’d keep coming back to challenge him because he thinks it’d be fun. So I said yes. Can you believe…” He breathes in. “He can beat a god, Nessa. A _god._ It’s lucky his heart is a good one. Who knows what else he’d be capable of.”

“I don’t think we have to worry ourselves too much over that,” Nessa replies. “He hasn’t shown a single sign of going bad, and worse men have tried to sway him to the dark with all manner of things. And what does he do?”

“Refuse,” Raihan sighs.

“Exactly. But if you’re so worried, then keep an eye on him. Just… remember what I told you before. You can’t hide who you are forever.”

“I know.” He rubs his face. “I already told him my name, and that my parents named me after… me. He believed it, at least. But, ugh… Nessa.”

Nessa, who was beginning to turn away to walk in the direction of the nearby river, stops and glances over his shoulder at him. “Yes?”

“When I went down to see him, that’s all I wanted to do. See him, talk to him, I thought it would help me get over it.” Raihan tugs anxiously at a strap on his armor. “It just made it worse. I don’t know… what to do.”

The goddess blinks a few times, silent. A thoughtful expression crosses over her face and she stands and thinks while Raihan remains in emotional turmoil, his head a mess because he can’t get Leon’s smile out of it. The silence is just making it worse, because now he’s starting to remember how Leon’s laugh sounded.

“Talk to Melony about it,” Nessa finally says. “She had a few children with a mortal, didn’t she? And she isn’t the goddess of love for nothing.”

Of course. That should have been obvious. Instead of agonizing over it to Nessa, who certainly had better things to do, he should have gone to the actual goddess of love for advice. But talking to Melony can be a little hard since she has the tendency to… smother, act like a mother hen, at least if she cares about you. Otherwise, she has a heart like ice. A harsh contrast to her title.

He doesn’t go immediately. When Nessa finally disappears over a hill, Raihan sighs and closes his eyes. Instantly, he’s disappearing and reappearing in his section of the domain. It’s mostly forest, with rocky mountains capped with snow. All forms of wildlife live in the forest, many being rare beasts hardly ever found in the mortal realm. Dragons rule the skies here, occasionally diving down to snag their prey when it comes into view. He sits down on a boulder with a heavy sigh.

Nearby, a golden stag with two pairs of antlers lifts his head and stares at him. When a dragon appears and drops itself down next to Raihan, the stag bolts. Raihan rubs his scout along the neck and it rumbles softly, nuzzling into his side.

Maybe he’s putting off going to Melony longer than he should be. Leon is going to be expecting him to show back up soon, and Raihan finds he really doesn’t want to disappoint him. So he finally packs up the courage to leave his domain and make his way to Melony’s, which isn’t too far from his own.

The closer he gets, the icier the path is. Yet the trees remain green, the water remains flowing, but the air is still cold. Raihan feels out of his element here, even if he does have control over the snow. He tugs his fur tighter around himself to fight off the cold nipping at the exposed bits of his skin—he runs warm, but even a god can’t always fight off the bite of the cold. Unless you’re one like Kabu.

He finds Melony in a cottage in a clearing, where the ice has melted away and made room for lush, green grass and flowers springing from the ground. Three young boys chase one another through the garden; three out of five children, three out of four boys. All children from her ongoing relationship with a mortal man. Gordie had left a long time ago, despite his mother’s insistence he stay, but he felt that the earth called to him more than the heavens. A good man, following his own desires rather than those imposed upon him. Raihan admires him quite a bit, always makes a point to say hello if he returns every so often to see his little brothers and his older sister, who is surprisingly absent at the moment.

One of the boys skids to a stop when he notices Raihan, and the others follow suit. They stare at him, and then all at once are charging at him, laughing. He crouches down, grinning wide with his arms held out, letting the boys climb all over him. When he rises, he has one in each arm and the other sitting on his shoulders.

The door to the cottage opens and a woman pokes her head out. Her pale blonde hair falls over one shoulder in a braid, her plush lips pressed in a curious pout, but when she spots Raihan her blue eyes brighten.

“Raihan!” She calls, stepping out, smoothing out the wrinkles in her apron. Raihan bends over to let the boys down, and they return to playing as their mother approaches Raihan. He kisses her cheek and she laughs. “I never thought you would come all the way out here to see _me._ What’s the occasion?”

Raihan laughs sheepishly and looks around. “I need your help,” he admits. Melony opens her mouth, and he holds a finger up to his lips to silence her, eyes darting to the boys nearby. “Inside.”

Melony nods and turns, her dress swishing about her heels when she walks. She’s much shorter than him, he has to shorten his strides so he doesn’t find himself far ahead of her. Raihan ducks into the cottage, relieved at the warmth inside. He sheds the fur cloak from his shoulders and peels off his gloves. 

She makes a pot of tea made from berries you can’t find in the mortal realm, a mix of spicy and sweet, just how Raihan likes it. Raihan watches her move around her kitchen as he sips his tea.

“So what do you need my help with?” She asks. Raihan narrows his eyes, glancing to the side.

“You know,” he mumbles. “Love.”

Melony brings her hand up to her mouth in surprise. "Love? You're in love?" She looks absolutely delighted, her eyes twinkling. Raihan is having trouble looking at her now, his cheeks heating up.

"Who is it, then?" Soft hands reach up, way up, to take hold of Raihan's face and force him to look at her. "You _must_ tell me."

Here she goes with the smothering. Raihan closes his eyes and sighs, nudging her hands away.

"The Champion," he admits. "Leon."

A few beats of silence and then Melony is laughing, the sound musical. "Ah, I knew the look in your eye when you watched him seemed familiar! Well, I'm no stranger to loving mortals." As if on cue, the ring on her finger glints. "Sit down. Tell me everything."

So he sits in front of the fireplace with her and recounts everything from the prior day. She doesn't speak, just listens, nodding, occasionally gasping or giggling here and there. When he's done, he looks down at his hands in his lap. Brows furrow and his lips press into a tight line.

"A relationship between a god and mortal is a difficult one," Melony says softly, rubbing her thumb over her ring. "We can appear just as human as they are, but we're still much different. But there is still one thing we have in common."

"Which is?"

"The ability to love." She beams at him. "We can still love. I'm in love. Nessa, even if she hasn't told you, is in love with a girl who happens to be friends with the dear Champion. And you, you're in love…"

Raihan swallows. "I just don't see the point," he begins. "Loving someone. It all seems too… difficult. Isn't it best to just not—"

A spike of ice breaks through the floorboards directly between his legs, just barely missing his groin, and Raihan yelps, falling back. When he looks up, he sees Melony with a clenched fist and a tight smile.

"You would do well not to scorn love in front of me, Raihan!" She exclaims. Raihan scrambles back up and nods a few times.

"Sorry, sorry. I just don't know what's gotten into me," he manages. The ice in front of him melts away and the floorboards mend themselves. "This hasn't happened before."

Melony rests her chin in her palm. Her eyes soften again. "All you need to do is talk to him. Meet with him. Be his friend and surely good things will come your way." She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "He is a good, kind man. And you are a good, kind god. If you work together, you can make something beautiful." She pauses, thinking. “Though, if you’d like, I could pull a few strings—”

“No!” Raihan says, a little too loudly. He clears his throat, heat rising to his cheeks. “No, don’t do anything. Whether he loves me or not should be his choice.”

“I’m talking circumstances, dear,” Melony sighs, rolling her eyes. “I’d never force someone to love another. No need to worry.”

“You still don’t have to do anything,” he insists. “Whatever happens, happens.”

“Of course, of course.” Melony rises to her feet, smoothing her hands out over her apron. “Don’t forget, the weather is always on _your_ side. You can use that to your advantage. Anyway, since you’re here, make yourself useful. Help me pick vegetables from the garden.”

Raihan stands up and nods. “All right.”

—

Two days later he returns to the mortal realm.

It’s still early in the morning, but people are already walking through the streets of the town. There is the smell of food hanging in the air, townsfolk calling out their “good morning”s to their neighbors, and even the blacksmith is already hard at work. A few soldiers pass by Raihan on horseback, giving him side glances but carrying on without a word.

The day is overcast. Raihan knew it would be, and has the ability to change that, but he likes letting the weather do its own thing from time to time. Things need to happen naturally, he only has to step in sometimes. He adjusts his cloak around his shoulders and keeps walking towards his destination: the stadium, where he knows Leon is currently doing his training. Sometimes Leon trains there, other times he trains in the forest, or on the rocky cliffs. So Raihan had to double-check before he left.

He finds Leon there as he knew he would. The Champion has his hair drawn back into a loose ponytail, resting over one shoulder and baring the skin of his neck which glistens with sweat. Leon doesn’t notice him yet (his dragon does, though, from where she’s perched on one watchtower of the stadium and keeping a close eye; he ignores the burning stare she gives him), all of his focus on the training dummy he’s hitting with a wooden stave. Each movement is fluid, practiced; each blow is precise. His hits land where he wants them to each time.

Raihan hangs back for a minute simply to admire his technique. He’s graceful but ruthless. If it were a real enemy he was fighting, it would be dead by now.

The head is suddenly knocked off by one sharp blow, sending it flying to the side, hay spilling out. Leon blinks a few times, standing up straight, and Raihan can’t help but laugh aloud. It catches Leon’s attention immediately and he whips his head around, eyes a little wide in surprise. But the second he sees it’s Raihan he relaxes and—oh, no, Raihan really shouldn’t start focusing on how soft Leon’s smile is when he sees him. Leon barely knows him, he’s just being friendly.

But Raihan can hope.

“Oh! Hello, Raihan!” Leon waves with one hand, balancing the stave in the other. Raihan feels himself melting on the inside. “I didn’t expect you to show up today! I was thinking during the matches next week…”

The cloak is shrugged off of Raihan’s shoulders and he sets it to the side.

“I guess I just can’t stay away from you,” Raihan says and he’s not oblivious to the blush that colors Leon’s face. He laughs again and picks up another stave from the weapon rack. Raihan rolls his shoulders back and approaches Leon, who turns fully to him. “You’ve been well since the last time I saw you?”

“Well enough.” Leon rubs his hand over his nose and grins up at Raihan. Raihan thinks that it’s fine that it's overcast today because Leon’s grin is brighter than the sun. He takes notice of the bruise still on Leon’s nose, mottled green and yellow. There is a rush of guilt, but it doesn’t last long. Still, he can’t help but feel bad over hurting Leon’s stupid, pretty face like that. Even though at this point Raihan is sure Leon could but the ugliest man alive and he’d still love him. “What about you?”

Raihan spins his stave in his hand and Leon takes his place across from him. They do this like this isn’t their first time facing each other outside of an official match and Raihan thinks it feels _right._ Or maybe he’s just being too hopeful.

“It’s been uneventful,” Raihan says. He’s not about to tell Leon about him moping and agonizing over his crush. Definitely not. “Met with some… family.”

Their staves knock together. Even as they’re trading blows, they keep talking. It comes naturally, they don’t stumble, there is no hair out of place. Sweat begins to form on Raihan’s neck.

“I’ve been meaning to visit my family,” Leon says. “All the way in Postwick. My little brother keeps writing to me, and my mum always worries.”

Raihan knows about Leon’s family. Grandparents, a mother, and a brother. Leon loves his family, and instead of using the riches he gains as rewards for himself he sends the majority of it to them. He knows Leon grew up in a struggling family, and his father’s death only made it harder for them. Now, they’re comfortable, they’re happy, and Leon is obviously determined to keep it that way by any means possible.

“My little brother—Hop—says he wants to be like me. Or, well…” Leon, without batting an eyelash, twists Raihan’s stave out of his grasp so quickly that Raihan isn’t even entirely sure how he does it. Then he hits his own stave against the side of Raihan’s neck. Raihan lets out a soft ‘ouch!’. “He wants to be better than me, but he has a lot of training to do.”

“How old is he?” Raihan asks as if he doesn’t know.

“Fifteen,” Leon answers, bending over to pick up Raihan’s stave, tossing it back to him. “Still a boy, but he has big dreams. I just want him to be safe. Do something that he really wants to do, not because he wants to… surpass me.”

Raihan can’t help his smile. He ducks to dodge Leon swinging the stave at his head. “He’ll find his path eventually.” And he hits his own stave against Leon’s ribs, making the Champion jump in surprise. “Just let him figure it out on his own.”

“Even if it means he beats me one day,” Leon thinks out loud.

“You can’t be the best forever.”

That makes Leon pause, silent. Maybe that was a sore spot. Oops. Raihan pokes him in the belly with one end of his stave. It makes Leon startle. “Hey. Don’t worry so much.” He should probably change the subject. “Let’s keep going.”

So they do; they spend the next while sparring. He’s not sure how long, but the sun is much higher in the sky than it was when they started. Raihan manages to land a few hits on Leon, but for the most part, Leon is the one dominating the match. Raihan is glad he doesn’t bruise easily, because with how many times Leon’s hit him hard he’d be bound to have a few if he were human. Though maybe it’d be a little deserved with the bruise he left on Leon’s face.

“Ah, I need to be going!” Leon says. “With how much I get lost, I always need to leave for things… early.”

Raihan blinks. Leon passes him his own stave so he can put them away. “What’s the occasion?”

“The king,” he sighs. “His adviser is bound to be looking for me, and she hates to be kept waiting.”

A beat of silence. Raihan is a little bitter about their meeting is cut short by Leon’s… responsibilities and he can’t say he’s a huge fan of the king. Beneath those kind smiles and gentle eyes, Raihan can see something far more sinister. Leon doesn’t need to be wrapped up in that, but he supposes he can’t really refuse even if he wanted to. Champion or not, Rose was king, and you can’t go against the king.

“Do you need help getting there…?” Raihan asks as if he really knows the way. He’s hardly ever come to the mortal realm, much of Wyndon is still a mystery to him.

“Cora will help me,” Leon says with a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow, I can even buy you a meal at the inn.”

“Ah, right.” Raihan nods a few times. He watches as Leon unties the ribbon in his hair, letting wild violet waves tumble down his shoulders, framing his face. Raihan’s gut tightens because fuck, he’s so handsome. Beautiful. Stunning. If he’s staring, Leon doesn’t comment on it, if he even notices. “Then I’ll be seeing you. Enjoy your time with the king, then.”

Leon laughs. “Oh, I’ll try.”

Cora jumps down from the tower, landing on the ground with a thud, kicking up dust. Leon gives one more wave to Raihan, picking up his own cloak and throwing it over his shoulders, and then climbs onto his dragon’s back. Cora gives Raihan a look, and then she’s taking off, taking Leon with her.

—

They do meet the next day, and Leon does buy him a meal at the inn after their sparring session. And they meet the next day, and the next, and each evening Raihan returns home at least one of the other gods pesters him about how the day went.

Every day, whenever Leon sees him, his golden eyes light up and his grin gets so big Raihan worries it might split his face in half. One day, they make their way into the Slumbering Weald to practice in the fog; another, they spar hand-to-hand on a rocky cliff. Leon, despite their difference in size, still manages to throw Raihan around with ease. It’s a little hot, admittedly, and he does enjoy it when Leon takes his shirt off and he gets a view of his sweaty, heaving chest.

Raihan still shows up to official matches, fighting his way to finally face Leon again, but each time Leon still brings him down. He hasn’t given his name publicly yet, no one in the stadium knows what to call him, but he begins to hear the whispers around town—the unnamed warrior who almost rivals the Champion in power. Almost. Raihan’s goal was never to bring Leon down from his pedestal, but nowadays he’s thinking it might be a little satisfying to manage to beat the boy who beat a god.

One day Leon, some weeks later after a bout of training, says, “There’s been a barghest spotted near the Weald.”

A barghest? That isn’t a name he’s heard in a while. Those large, black canine-like creatures only tend to appear when someone’s death is near. Nasty creatures, bringing with them the sound of rattling shackles and howling dogs. And they aren’t easy to bring down. But to a person like Leon, taking it down would be effortless, or Raihan would like to believe that.

“So what will you do?” Raihan asks, wiping sweat off his brow with his arm. He retrieves his shirt, which he discarded a good hour ago because it was beginning to feel too stuffy, and pulls it back on.

“Everyone is expecting me to take care of it,” Leon mumbles. He looks a little tired. “So I guess I have to.”

A beat of silence, then, “Do you want to?”

“I do,” he doesn’t sound convincing. “I’m going to tomorrow. The dogs in town have been going mad, it’s probably already begun to make its way here. I need to take it down before it… kills. If it hasn’t already killed.”

There haven’t been any reported deaths near Wyndon that Raihan knows of. Allister might know, but so many people die every moment that it would be difficult to keep track, and the little god of death doesn’t need to worry about this. There are another few moments of silence before Raihan speaks again, “Do you want me to help you?”

Leon, who has now turned to his dragon and is rubbing his hand over her snout, glances back at Raihan and furrows his brows. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Beasts like that are no laughing matter.”

“I’m not laughing,” Raihan shoots back. Leon scrunches his nose up. Raihan can’t help but grin. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”

Worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, Leon looks to the side, thinking, then looks back up at Raihan. He looks hesitant, concerned; he looks like he doesn’t know what to say. Has _anyone_ ever offered to assist him before? Is Raihan the first? Does everyone truly believe Leon can do everything by himself? Does _Leon_ believe that? Is the idea of being assisted by anyone that isn’t his dragon that much of a foreign concept to Leon?

“Okay,” Leon finally concedes. “Meet me outside of Wyndon’s southern gate right at dawn tomorrow morning. Make sure you’re… prepared. I’ll pray tonight.”

—

Leon does pray. Raihan watches him do so, because he prays to him, and he prays to Kabu and Bea. The weather around the Weald can be unpredictable, so he’s relying on Raihan to make sure it’s decent. Decent enough for a fight, especially with something like a barghest that thrives in the shadows.

“You’re going to help him?” Nessa asks.

“I offered,” Raihan says. When Nessa gives him a curious look, he adds, “Impulsively. I know if I’m on his side there’s no threat of him dying.”

“How are you going to help him fight without revealing yourself, anyway?”

“I’ll figure it out.” It’s a fair question, but he supposes if he can spar just fine without exposing himself, then it will be fine.

“You always do.”

—

As promised, Raihan waits outside the southern gates of Wyndon the next morning. And he waits, and waits, and waits. Right, Leon was hopeless with directions. Even with the stadium clear in view, he seems to get turned around on his way there. His dragon always helps him navigate, and… speak of the devil, there is the sound of wings beating overhead, a shadow casting over him before the orange dragon lowers herself onto the ground. Leon is on her back, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

“I wanted to find my way here on my own, but…” Leon rubs the back of his neck. “It didn’t work out. Anyway, well…”

Leon looks him up and down. “You don’t have a mount, so you can ride with me on Cora. Does that sound good?”

Raihan could easily call one of his own dragons as a mount, but that would be a dead giveaway to his identity. _You can’t lie to him forever,_ Nessa’s words echo in his mind. So he nods. Raihan adjusts the bow and quiver on his back ( filled with arrows tipped with silver ), makes sure that his swords are properly sheathed at his hips, and then climbs on behind Leon.

Cora lets out a low rumble, back curving under the added weight, but she takes it just fine. Raihan isn’t really sure where to put his hands—okay, he knows where to put his hands, but he’s kind of nervous about it. Leon sits right in front of him on the saddle, his bow and quiver on his own back and his sword at his hip. While he has a hold on Cora’s reins, the only thing Raihan has to hold onto is…

Ugh. He swallows his pride and wills away the heat in his gut, and he rests his hands on Leon’s waist. Leon squirms a little bit— _Fuck, don’t do that!_ —under the touch, but then stills. The Champion murmurs a soft command and then they’re taking off. As they fly, they remain silent. Leon is leaning forward over Cora’s neck, one hand on the reins and the other resting on her neck. Meanwhile, Raihan keeps his hands on Leon’s waist. If it weren’t for the quiver on his back he’d lean further over Leon’s back.

They stop not too far from the edge of the Weald. Both of them jump from Cora’s back and Cora takes back to the skies. As they walk towards the forest’s edge, she’s a dark speck in the cloudy sky. Leon remains silent, his eyes sharp with determination, and Raihan follows him close behind.

It’s after a half-hour of walking along the edge of the Weald that they hear the soft trickle of running water, and then a few moments later the sound of chains rattling. Leon comes to a halt, lifting a hand to command Raihan to stop as well.

Silence, silence, rattle, silence, growling, silence.

“Behind you!” Leon suddenly says, whipping around and drawing his bow. Before Raihan can even fully turn around the Champion has notched an arrow and is firing it into the chest of the dark beast that leaps at Raihan from behind. It doesn’t do much, but Raihan is able to move out of the way just in time. The barghest skids over the grass, snarls, drool dripping from its maw, eyes glowing with fire. Leon is upon it within moments, his sword drawn, taking a quick warning slice through the air.

The beast snaps at him and turns its head towards where Raihan stands on its other side. Its long tail lashes, its bat-like ears twitching. The chains on its legs drag across the ground with each step it takes.

Raihan draws both swords. The arrow still sticks out of the barghest’s chest, but it acts as if it takes no notice.

It turns back to Leon. After another pause, it finally leaps.

Everything happens so fast. It jumps at Leon, who makes an upward swipe of his sword. It manages a slice over the barghest’s upper abdomen, close to the arrow. Leon rolls out of the way of another lunge and Raihan draws his bow again, fires off an arrow that hits the barghest between the shoulders.

It snarls, but all of its focus is on Leon. Large teeth are gnashing, claws are swiping, Leon is just barely managing to avoid getting gutted by those claws.

As they fight, they move deeper into the forest, the fog getting thicker the further they go. No matter how many times they hit the beast it keeps going, spurting blood from every injury it gets. And no matter how many arrows Raihan fires, its focus remains on the Champion who had already looked weary before the battle even began.

Then the barghest has Leon pinned to the ground, teeth just inches from his face, and Raihan is moments from exposing himself just to help Leon but the Champion is moving before he can, ripping the arrow from the barghest’s chest, spraying blood on himself, and stabbing the arrow into the beast’s fiery eye. It howls, pulling off of Leon and thrashing, and Raihan uses this opportunity to leap onto its back. It tries desperately to shake him off, to no avail. He keeps a tight hold on it with his thighs and then, with both blades, stabs it in the neck.

Leon manages to grab his own sword from where he lies on the ground and, as the barghest howls, stabs it into its open mouth. It struggles a bit more and Leon shoves the blade in further.

When he finally draws it out, the barghest collapses on top of him. The Champion grunts, wheezes, and Raihan is immediately coming to his aid. He pulls his blades out, jumps off of the barghest’s back and begins to help the Champion pull the corpse off of him. It takes a few harsh pulls, but Leon eventually is freed. He lies there still for a few moments, staring up at the trees, squinting.

“Are you okay?” Raihan asks.

“I’m fine,” Leon mumbles. Raihan offers his hand and Leon takes it, pulling himself up to his feet.

“Hurt anywhere?” Raihan presses.

“No. Just… bruised, probably.” Leon is covered in blood. Not his own blood, at least, but the thick, dark blood of the barghest. It’s all over his clothes, his armor; on his skin and in his hair. And when he moves he’s… limping a little bit. Leon winces. “Might have pulled something.”

Raihan rubs Leon’s shoulder. “We should go back. Get you cleaned up.”

Leon just nods. Raihan wishes he knew why Leon looked so tired to begin with, and at that moment he just wants to… hold him, make sure he’s okay because he doesn’t know why the Champion has those dark bags under his eyes, why his face is a little pale. He must be overworking himself, not affording himself any breaks.

Leaning heavily against Raihan’s side, Leon brings his thumb and index finger to his lips and whistles sharply. Within a few moments, Raihan can hear the heavy flapping of wings. Branches bend and break as Cora breaks through them, landing in front of them. She takes one look at them, at the corpse of the barghest, and then she’s lowering herself down enough that Raihan can help Leon onto her back. He settles in behind him.

Leon merely says, “Cora, take us home.”

They fly back to Wyndon in silence. When they finally land, it’s in a nice little area of the town with larger homes. It feels strange, as Leon is only one person and these houses look too big for one person, but he imagines Cora must take up enough space, and whatever… men he finds himself in the company of some nights. Raihan doesn’t want to think about that.

They enter Leon’s home. It’s relatively bare, with almost nothing on the walls and no other accessories to be seen beside a few trophies and a sword on the wall. Otherwise, there are two chairs in front of a fireplace, a small dining table, and some pots and pans hanging from a rack in the kitchen. The stairs must lead to the bedroom and garderobe.

“Should I go?” Raihan asks the moment he steps inside. Leon grabs his wrist.

“No, you can stay. You also have to, uh…” He gestures to Raihan’s general… person. “Clean yourself off.”

“You do it first.”

Leon nods. As he makes his way up the stairs, Raihan takes a seat on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. He looks down at the fur rug on the floor and thinks, thinks, thinks. There is the sound of running water from upstairs and Leon is a gone a good forty-five minutes. In the meantime, Raihan sits alone with the dragon who had squeezed her way in and curls up near the door. She’s staring at him. Raihan stares back.

She knows who he is, he knows she knows, she knows he knows she knows. At least she’s not doing anything about it, but oddly enough she doesn’t seem to trust him too much. Cora’s eyes flash in warning, then she turns her head and hides it under her wing so she can sleep.

Leon returns with damp hair and simple clothing. Raihan, after a moment of watching him, stands and makes his way to the garderobe to clean himself.

—

Raihan spends the rest of the day in Leon’s home, just to make sure he’s actually okay. Over the next few hours, Leon seems to perk up, and his limp fades away. There are, however, a few noticeable bruises on his skin. They talk every so often, just small conversations with small little smiles. Leon makes him something to eat but it doesn’t turn out very well, so Raihan takes charge of cooking.

He’s had to discard his shirt and armor for the night, both covered in the barghest’s blood, and he wonders if he imagines Leon sneaking a few looks at his chest and abdomen when he thinks Raihan isn’t looking. They eat, and Leon breaks out sweet wine that he says he’s been saving for “special occasions”. Does he think this is a special occasion?

Talking to Leon is… easy, and it only gets easier, and Melony’s words from weeks prior echo in his mind: _If you work together, you can make something beautiful._

“You know,” Leon says, his eyes only on Raihan. Only ever on Raihan. He’s having trouble parsing the emotion in Leon’s eyes. “It’s been a long time since someone’s spent this much time with me.”

“Has it?” Raihan asks. Between them, Raihan rests his hand and when he looks down he sees Leon’s inching towards it. Their fingers thread together. Raihan’s heart begins to pound; he’s a little worried he might start sweating. Instead, he squeezes Leon’s hand.

“I never have the time. And I never invite anyone. It’s a little boring here.” Leon brushes his hair out of his face, sighing.

“I don’t think it’s boring,” Raihan says quickly, maybe a little too quickly. “I don’t think you’re boring.”

Leon blinks and then smiles at him. “I know.”

“If you’d like,” Raihan is turning at the waist, leaning in further, “I can visit you here more often.”

“Huh? Really?” Leon rubs his thumb over Raihan’s knuckles. It’s a soothing gesture.

“Really. And I…” He stops to consider his next words, wondering if maybe they’re too much. He decides to say it anyway, “Maybe I could come with you when you visit your family. I’m sure they’d be glad to see you’ve made a new…”

He trails off. Leon finishes for him, “Friend?”

“Right, friend.” _Maybe more?_

Leon turns his head away then, squeezing Raihan’s hand like Raihan had done to his moments before. “It’s nice to have… friends,” Leon says, his voice soft. There is hair hanging in his face now, spilling over his shoulder, hiding his face behind it like a curtain. Raihan immediately reaches out to tuck it behind his ear, back over his shoulder. Leon turns his head again to look at him.

“It is.”

It’s starting to get late. Leon will probably want him to leave soon, but he doesn’t really want to leave at all.

 _Don’t forget, the weather is always on_ your _side._

The fingers of Raihan’s hand twitch, just barely enough that Leon wouldn’t notice. There is a rumble of thunder in the distance, which grows closer and closer. Leon lifts his head up in surprise, eyes wide. Then the rain starts, softly at first before it really begins to pour. This way… Leon might let him stay a little longer. For the night, at least, because Leon is too kind to throw anyone out into a storm.

“Ah…” Leon rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. “You should stay tonight, then. You’ll catch your death out there.”

“Where should I sleep?” Raihan asks.

“My bed is big enough for two,” Leon replies. “I don’t move around too much, don’t worry.”

“It’s okay if you move around,” Raihan says anyway. He reaches his hand out again to move another loose strand of hair from Leon’s face. Leon sighs, then smiles again. Raihan smiles back.

His patience is wearing thin.

Luckily, Leon moves first. The hand in Raihan’s pulls back and Leon turns a bit so he can look at Raihan proper, then he’s reaching out, taking Raihan’s face in his hands and pulling him down to eye level. Their brows touch, their breaths ghosting over one another’s faces. Leon is looking at his lips.

“Can I?” Leon says, soft.

“Yes,” Raihan replies without hesitation.

Leon kisses him like a lover, soft but passionate, mapping out the lines of his face with gentle hands. Raihan leans into it, a hand on his waist. In front of them, the fireplace continues to burn bright, casting them in a warm glow. Outside, the rain continues to pour.

"Do you want me?" Leon breathes against his lips.

_Yes, yes, I've wanted you for so long. I love you, I love you._

"So much," Raihan says instead. Leon smiles that sweet smile of his and lets Raihan drag him closer, right into his lap. He runs his hand along Leon's spine, dragging the fabric of his shirt up with his palm, heat spiking in his gut when Leon arches beneath the touch.

As soft as the plush fur rug beneath them is, it's hardly appropriate for fucking someone on, even though Raihan has fucked people in plenty of other places before. With Leon, it's different. If he's going to fuck Leon he wants Leon to be comfortable. Fucking Leon—as silly as it might sound, he'd prefer to call it _making love._

With an arm around Leon's waist and the other slipping beneath his rear, Raihan hoists him up as he stands. Immediately, Leon is wrapping his legs around Raihan's waist, his arms over his shoulders.

Raihan practically stumbles up the stairs, having a hard time focusing on walking because Leon is kissing along his jaw, nipping at his earlobe, pressing a trail of kisses down his neck. It's all very distracting, along with stiffness forming in his trousers.

It’ll be taken care of soon enough.

—

"Do you sleep with all of your rivals?" Raihan can't help but tease, mouth pressing hotly along Leon's throat as Leon rides him. Just a few minutes ago Leon was getting him off with his mouth until Raihan felt like he was about to burst, but this feeling is even _more_ overwhelming: wrapped in that hot, wet tightness.

" _Ah_ — no, you're just special." Leon slams himself down. He digs his nails into the flesh of Raihan's shoulders. "You're my only— _nnh_ —true rival."

It makes Raihan pause, but Leon keeps moving in his lap. Leon considers Raihan his only true rival? The only one worth really calling his rival? Fuck, this isn't a conversation they should be having now when Raihan is balls-deep inside of Leon, when Leon is bouncing on his cock like he was made for it.

"You think so?" Raihan breathes, chasing Leon's pulse with his lips, all the way up his neck.

"Mmhm." Leon's hands slide from Raihan's shoulders to his chest, then promptly push him onto the bed. A whoosh of air leaves him, and he's left staring up at the young man on his hips. The experience he has is obvious with how he moves, and not for the first time Raihan feels an odd pang of annoyance because it just reminds him that he's not the first. Maybe he won't even be the last.

When Leon begins grinding on his cock, quick back and forth motions of his hips, the Champion tips his head back and moans. Raihan grips his waist tight, watches how Leon curves his spine and runs a hand down his belly to between his thighs so he can rub at his clit.

"Ah, Raihan…" Leon's thighs are trembling, straining with effort as he drops himself down over and over. Raihan grits his teeth and growls through them. "You feel so good."

"So do you," Raihan pants. "So tight. So good for me." He can't take it anymore. Surging back up, he rolls them over so Leon lands on his back with a soft gasp, Raihan hovering over him. Both hands grip the backs of Leon's knees, pushing his legs back for a better angle to fuck into him.

Leon whines, arms around Raihan's back and nails scratching as Raihan fucks him slow and deep, striking at just the right angle. Their brows touch, breaths mingling, and Raihan meets Leon's eyes. They're wide, shining, with something wild in them, but something tender at the same time. It makes Raihan's heart ache.

The gap between their faces closes when Leon lifts his head from the pillows and Raihan meets him halfway. The Champion's hands move from Raihan's back, over his chest, up to cradle his face as they kiss, and kiss, and kiss. Raihan moves one hand from Leon's leg to grab the headboard. The bed rocks with the force of his thrusts which start speeding up, making Leon squirm and jolt underneath him.

“I’m going to ruin you,” Raihan grits out. Leon gasps at a sharp thrust. “You’ll remember this. No one else— no one else will fuck you like I do. No one else will be able to satisfy you like I do.”

Leon doesn’t say anything, but his eyes widen just a little, lips parting in a soft moan.

“You’re always going to want me,” growls Raihan; it’s a promise. “Like I always want you.”

Raihan feels so painfully human now, with this rush of love, lust, passion, want, _need._ With Leon in his arms, making him feel all these things he never expected a mortal to make him feel. Leon is so kind, gentle, generous; strong, fierce, proud, determined; beautiful, so beautiful, the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. And Raihan loves him so much. He wants to tell him already.

"Raihan, I'm going to…" He can hear how Leon struggles to speak, panting against his lips. Raihan rubs their noses together.

"Go ahead," he murmurs. Leon nods a few times and then he's jolting, tremors passing through his body.

"Oh, Rai _han_ ," Leon gasps, his head thrown back, mouth agape. He writhes as Raihan continues fucking into him at an almost brutal pace now. "Raihan, _Raihan._ "

He fucks Leon through his orgasm, tucks his face against Leon's shoulder and groans as he nears his own release. Leon scrabbles at his back, his sounds high-pitched from the overstimulation.

And then he's pulling out, pumping his cock until he's releasing over Leon's belly, groaning heavily while Leon trembles and twitches underneath him. Raihan lets out a noise that sounds a bit like Leon's name.

Then he's hunching over Leon, panting heavily, Leon still shaking and whimpering.

"Are you okay?" Raihan finally asks, a hand coming up to stroke Leon's red cheek. Leon nods shakily, swallowing hard, then pulls Raihan down for another kiss. It's slower now, lacking the desperation from before. Raihan drops his hand to run over one trembling thigh, hoping the motion is soothing. And he continues to kiss Leon until the tremors die down. "Do you need anything?"

Leon is silent for a few moments. And what he says next is the last thing Raihan expects, "Just hold me. Please."

Raihan does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha oh god
> 
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	3. they'll never break the shape we take

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon is warm and familiar and comfortable, Leon is an anchor, something to hold onto, something to cradle and love, something keeping his immortal soul tied to the mortal realm. Raihan should hate him for that, but he doesn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baby, let all them voices [slip away](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EVhFTw4igw).
> 
> ( this chapter contains multiple mentions of sex but nothing explicit. )

Raihan opens his eyes and realizes that for the first night in many nights, he slept.

There is the sound of birds singing outside the window and people passing through the streets. The morning sun is shining through the window, bringing with it warmth on Raihan's bare back.

He's lying on his side, and next to him is Leon, facing him, still fast asleep. The fur blanket and quilt have fallen down to his hips, exposing his bare skin. Raihan blinks blearily, and then the memories of the night before come rushing back. They had kissed and it felt like an explosion of color and emotion, they had made love and Leon had writhed under his touch, cried out his name. And after, Raihan had held him as he asked. He doesn't know for how long, but Leon had eventually gotten up to clean himself off before returning to bed. They had curled up together, Raihan wrapped around Leon, gathering him close.

Leon fell asleep first and Raihan can only assume he fell asleep not long after, after spending a few minutes stroking Leon's hair and watching his gentle sleeping expression, listening to the soft huffs of breath. He looked so vulnerable like that, every part of him softened as he slept. Not like a typical warrior who might remain guarded even in his sleep—but Leon is not a typical warrior.

Slowly, as to not disturb Leon's slumber, Raihan sits up. He blinks down at Leon, who still remains fast asleep. There are purple and red marks littered across his skin, from his neck, to his collarbone, his chest, one bite mark around one nipple, then all the way to his hips. Beneath the blanket, Raihan is sure the inside of Leon's thighs show signs of Raihan's lips and teeth. Among these marks, the mottled green and yellow bruises from the barghest attack stand out.

He remembers kissing each scar he found with reverence, calling Leon beautiful. Because he is so very beautiful and he deserves to know, deserves to hear that from someone who wants him for more than just his body, his power.

Reaching out, he runs a hand over Leon's arm and smiles. Leon stirs, one eye cracking open to stare blearily at Raihan before he turns his face into the pillows. Raihan laughs.

"Don't sleep forever," he coos.

"Mmh." Leon gives a lazy, dismissive wave of his hand. Raihan catches it by the wrist and kisses his palm. Leon turns his hand a bit to rub Raihan under the chin and if Raihan could purr, he's certain he would.

"How are you feeling?" Raihan asks, leaning further into the touch.

"Tired," Leon mumbles. "Sore. You went—hard."

"Was it too much?" There is worry in his tone, worry that maybe he pushed Leon a little past his limits and hurt him without meaning to.

Leon turns his head again so he can look at Raihan, and he _smiles._ "'Course not," he says. "It was great. You were great. You're so…"

"What?"

"Big," he giggles like a little boy with a crush. "Wow."

Raihan opens his mouth, then closes it as that processes. Then he preens inwardly. Pressing his hand to the sheets, he leans down to kiss Leon's cheek, making Leon turn his head so their lips can meet. Into Leon's mouth, Raihan murmurs, "Bigger than you've had before?"

"Mhm," Leon replies, swiping his tongue out over Raihan's lips.

"Do you like them big, then?"

"Yes," the Champion breathes, and then he's sitting up and pinning Raihan down, swinging his leg over his hip to straddle him as they kiss.

They don't leave the bed for a while.

—

It becomes a regular thing, to Raihan’s surprise. That is: coming back to Leon’s home after Leon’s been successful at a quest given to him, spending the next few hours with him, and then fucking him. And he always spends the night, always helps Leon clean up and then curls around him as he falls asleep. In the morning, he makes Leon a meal, and after a few more long kisses he forces himself to leave before he gets too carried away.

It’s one of these mornings that Raihan finally has a real run-in with Cora, who is curled up in front of the fireplace, her eyes wide open as she stares him down while he comes down the stairs. Raihan scratches his belly and yawns, then meets the dragon’s stare with his own.

Honestly, he can’t even begin to figure out what the dragon thinks of him. It’s obvious she knows _who_ he is, why wouldn’t she? He is the creator of her race, he is the one that crafted her egg from nothing and sent it to Leon's home all those years ago. So why does she seem so wary of him?

Raihan stops halfway through the front room. Cora keeps watching him.

"I have to wonder," he finally says aloud, making Cora lift her head. "Why you don't trust me."

Cora huffs out a breath through her nostrils. Raihan continues walking towards the kitchen again, but he can feel the dragon's gaze boring into his back. Then he hears movement, the sound of heavy footsteps and something dragging on the floor, then a large presence rising up behind him.

He turns, finding Cora behind him on her hind legs, all eight-foot-tall and gods know how many pounds, effortlessly towering over him. Raihan cranes his head up, way up, very much not used to having to look up at anyone since he's so used to being the taller one in every situation.

The dragon bows her head until she is at eye level with him. Hot breath washes over Raihan's face, making him squint. His mouth twists into a frown. After a few more moments of silence, right as Raihan is about to end this silly little game if intimidation and turn away, she opens her maw and a sound far from human comes out. It might be incomprehensible to mortal ears, but Raihan recognizes it immediately. Draconic is a language only so many non-dragon beings know due to most of it being reliant on sounds that humans cannot make, but Raihan, of course, is fluent.

 _"What do you want with him?"_ Her voice is a mixture of growls, hisses, but it surprisingly lacks hostility.

Raihan's eyes flicker behind her, keeping watch on the staircase—if Leon walked down to find Raihan speaking draconic, it'll be difficult to explain his way out of that one.

 _"I'm not sure what you mean,"_ Raihan responds.

_"You keep coming to see him—are you not busy? Do you not have other things to concern yourself over?"_

_"I promise you that I'm not getting distracted from my duties,"_ Raihan replies with a huff. _"Is it not enough to want his company?"_

 _"Why?"_ Goodness, she's nosy, but it makes him wonder what she's seen that has her so concerned for Leon.

 _"Because I—"_ Raihan stops, swallows. _"I love him."_

_"Then why do you keep lying to him?"_

_"Why do you care?"_

_"Because I have seen many men lie to reach his heart, only to hurt him in the end. Even if you are a god, I will not allow you to bring him pain."_

Oh.

Raihan can't help but wince at that. He rubs the back of his neck, feeling a little awkward now and even a little… ashamed. The last thing he wants is to be like the men who tried to play with Leon's heart. The men who only saw Leon for his fame. Because Leon is so much more than that.

 _"I will tell him,"_ he finally says. _"In time, when I believe he's ready to know."_

 _"He has been ready,"_ she rumbles. _"But are you?"_

Cora doesn't wait for him to respond, she just turns and drops onto all fours again, prowling back to her spot before the fire where she curls up to resume her slumber.

Raihan drags his hand over his face, sighs, then makes his way into the kitchen.

It's when he finally finishes cooking and is preparing to fill their plates with food that there is a knock on the door. Raihan grumbles in frustration, because who would be knocking at Leon's door right now? What could be so important?

He rolls his eyes. If he answers, hopefully that will be enough to tell whoever is there to go away. So Raihan, in his shirtless glory, strides towards the door and throws it open.

A young woman stands there adorned in white and green, a brown coat that looks a little too big for her on her shoulders. Her red curls are pulled back in a bun, but a few wild strands hang in front of her face. She stares up at Raihan in surprise, lips parting, brows raising.

"Leon is asleep," he says before she can even speak.

"Oh," she says. "I just stopped by to drop off a few things for him." She pats the heavy bag hanging off her shoulder. "And to say hello."

Actually, now that he looks at her he realizes how familiar she seems. Upon closer inspection, realization dawns on him. Right, of course, Leon's childhood friend who comes from a family of historians and authors. Sonia is her name, if he recalls correctly, and didn't Melony mention Nessa was infatuated with her?

Nessa really has no right to tease him for loving a mortal.

"Sonia?" A voice behind Raihan speaks up, and Raihan turns his head to look over his shoulder. Leon stands there, obviously still waking up, in nightclothes haphazardly thrown on to protect his decency. "Ah, Raihan, you can let her in. Don't worry."

Raihan steps aside immediately. Sonia gives him a _look,_ one that seems way too similar to the ones Nessa always gives him, but walks past him and into Leon's home.

She doesn't stay long, only dropping off a few books for Leon and quickly catching up. Leon introduces her and Raihan to one another; Raihan learns she's an apprentice to her grandmother who travels often to study the history of Galar. She is also very clever, and very kind, but she keeps giving Leon and Raihan knowing looks that embarrass him a little bit.

Sonia takes her leave, and when Raihan is sure he and Leon are alone he says, "She's nice."

"She is," Leon agrees. "And sharp."

"You've known her for a long time?"

"Since we were children," Leon says. He's beginning to make a beeline towards the kitchen, where the smell of food is still strong. Raihan follows close behind. "I'm sure she's going to ask me all about you the next time I see her."

"Why?" Raihan can't help but ask.

"She worries," the Champion explains, and Raihan immediately remembers his confrontation with Cora and what the dragon had told him. "Sometimes I don't make good decisions. With men."

"Oh." Raihan bites the inside of his cheek.

"But I don't think you're a bad decision." Leon beams at him. Raihan's heart skips. "Don't think too much about it! Let's eat."

—

"D'you remember how you said…" Leon dances out of the way of a swift swing of Raihan's stave during a sparring session some weeks later, just barely avoiding being smacked in the side with it. "You could come with me when I visited my family?"

Their staves knock together and Raihan tilts his head. "I do." Because he remembers a lot about that night, how could he forget it? It's something he's going to remember for the rest of his immortal life. A smile curls at his lips and when he sees Leon let his guard down to think—a rare occurrence—he strikes again, lightly hitting Leon in the ribs. Leon huffs out a startled breath, but it doesn't even knock him off balance.

"Do you still want to?"

Raihan stands up straighter, brows raising. They both take a pause now, their chests heaving and sweat glistening on their brows. He has to resist the temptation to reach out and tuck a stray lock of Leon’s hair behind his ear.

“Of course,” he replies with a grin. He leans forward on his stave. “Unless you’re having second thoughts?”

“No! I’m not,” Leon laughs. “No, I was just wondering if you meant it.”

Ah. He remembers what Cora had said to him before, about men lying to get close to Leon. That makes something hot and ugly rise up in Raihan’s chest because Leon doesn’t deserve that. But… is Raihan really so different? No, he never came here with the intention of sleeping with Leon or even being his… partner, he just wanted to talk to him and it became more. But he’s still lying, he still hasn’t told Leon just who and _what_ he is. Leon deserves someone kind, genuine, loyal, _someone who will tell him the fucking truth—_

“I did mean it,” Raihan promises. He leans over further and with one hand reaches out and cups Leon’s chin. Leon turns his face into the touch, his smile gentle.

Raihan loves him, he really does, and he wants to tell him soon. There have been so many chances for him to say it, but he always clams up, always loses the courage right before the words come out. Even with Leon in his arms post-coitus, warm and comfortable, staring up at him with those big golden eyes that reflect something painfully tender in them.

“Then… tomorrow,” Leon says. “Let’s go tomorrow. Cora will take us there.”

The god pinches Leon’s cheek with a grin. “Okay. Tomorrow.”

—

Tomorrow comes a little too quickly for his taste.

Him? The great Raihan? _Nervous_? Perish the thought!

Except Raihan never really expected to meet Leon's family, ever. That doesn't mean he didn't want to, but it was such a far-off prospect that he never dwelled too much on it. Until those words slipped out of him that one night, unbidden. Leon never forgot, which Raihan doesn't know if he should be disappointed about or not. It clearly meant a lot to him knowing Raihan would be willing to get to know his family, and that his family would see that he has a new, close friend. Right, Leon's family will be meeting him under the impression he's just a friend.

Though friends don't really fuck each other on the regular or cast longing looks over meals or throw winks at each other during matches, do they?

Not to mention the whole _being a god_ thing, but even Leon doesn't know that yet.

He's fidgety the whole ride there. Raihan keeps his hands on Leon's waist and squeezes occasionally, making Leon wiggle a little bit, and he's having trouble sitting still. So much that Leon takes notice and says, "Calm down, they'll love you."

That's something you'd usually say to a lover when bringing them to meet your family. Raihan's face burns and he struggles not to let go of Leon so he can hide his warm face in his hands.

Leon remains oblivious to his plight.

Postwick eventually comes into view, a small farming village where Leon grew up. Sheep graze in the green fields and people are traveling through the streets quickly, calling out to their neighbors, going about their errands. Leon's family's home is considerably bigger than most of the homes in the village, but it stands closer to the edge rather than right in the middle.

This place is hardly like the large, bustling city of Wyndon.

Cora begins her descent and Raihan grips Leon a little tighter until he knows that Cora is fully on the ground. The dragon drops to all fours, Raihan (reluctantly) releases Leon from his grasp, and Leon climbs off.

While Raihan is busy preparing to climb off himself, the door of the house is swinging open and a boy stands there, staring. He looks… startlingly like Leon, just lankier with shorter hair, and Raihan realizes that must be his little brother.

After another moment of the brothers staring at one another, the younger grins and it looks just like Leon's, big and bright, before he breaks out into a run and all but tackles Leon to the ground. Leon laughs loudly, stumbling off balance but catching himself before he can tip over. He gathers Hop up in a tight embrace and from where Raihan watches, he notes Hop is quickly going to beat his brother in height soon.

"Lee! You didn't tell us you were coming!"

"I wanted it to be a surprise!" Leon replies, his accent shifting, slipping into something so different than what he uses for everyone else, not the accent he trained himself to speak with. It's a thick brogue, a little rough, and Raihan has to strain a little to really understand what he's saying. "Look at you! You've grown… half an inch since I last saw you!"

Hop lightly punches him on the arm. "I'm gonna be taller than you soon, watch out!"

In the doorway a woman appears, wiping her hands on her apron. She blinks at the brothers, then grins and steps out.

"Leon!" And she walks forward, but Leon is already closing the distance and scooping her up in his arms. She's a good deal shorter than both him and Hop, which makes her comically smaller than Raihan. "We missed you! It's about time you stopped being a hero and came to visit!"

"Sorry mum," he laughs sheepishly. "Duty calls, I guess. Are nani and nana here?"

"They're inside, don't worry." Finally, both her and Hop's eyes venture towards Cora, where Raihan has stood silent at her side as he watched the family reunion. He raises his brows, then gives the best grin he has, big and fanged and shiny. Leon's mother tilts her head, curious, but her smile widens. "Who's this?"

"I'm Leon's… friend," Raihan says. "Raihan— _yes,_ like the god."

"He says his parents were devout worshipers," Leon explains. "I thought it'd be nice to have him meet you."

"Well, there's always room for one more," she says, her eyes crinkling as she grins. "Come inside, then. Maa will be delighted to see you."

"Okay, just a moment! Let me get Cora comfortable." Leon steps back, then walks towards the dragon and gives Raihan a tiny smile. He makes quick work of the saddle and reins and Cora rumbles, pleased, before she takes to the air only to settle on the roof of the home.

Raihan hesitates, and then, "You're sure it's all right for me to be here?"

"Of course it is," Leon responds. Then he's taking Raihan's hand before he can respond and tugging him along towards the open door of the house, where Hop and Leon's mother have already returned to. Raihan really has no choice but to follow him.

It’s no wonder Leon turned out as good as he did. His family is nothing short of kind and welcoming, all big, warm smiles and loud laughter. The second he came into view, Leon’s grandmother had looked him up and down closely, looked at Leon, and mentioned how she’s so glad Leon finally found a husband, only for Leon to splutter out that no, that’s not what’s going on, Raihan’s only a friend.

Only a friend, right. He pushes that thought aside for now.

He finds it easy to fit in, though. Leon keeps throwing glances at him, as if he’s concerned Raihan might not be comfortable, but Raihan _is_ comfortable after the initial nerves fade away. Really, there was nothing to be nervous about, he feels a little silly for being so antsy. Leon’s family treats him like one of their own, and it feels _right._ Like this is something that’s meant to be.

“Raihan,” Hop approaches him some hours later while Leon is helping his mother in the kitchen. He’s bright-eyed and curious, so much like his brother. “You’re a warrior, right?”

“I guess so,” Raihan hums, leaning back in his seat, relaxed. Leon had mentioned Hop was going to be training to be a warrior like him, wanted to be a Champion like him and even surpass him. Big dreams, but Raihan can’t help but feel like fate has other plans for the boy. Hop is a good kid from what he’s seen—fiery and stubborn and maybe a little arrogant sometimes, but gentle and bright all the same.

He’s a lot like his brother and yet entirely different, his own person even if he strives to be just like him.

Hop will find his own path in time.

"Everyone talks about the warrior that almost defeats Lee—is that you?"

The kid is starry-eyed and Raihan really, truly does like him already despite only knowing him for only a few hours. He's got spirit, a lot of it. Raihan doesn't even think to preen at the fact people speak highly of him—well, they always have, but as a god. These are people who know him only as a man.

"That's me. Your brother says we're rivals, you know." Raihan leans forward, his chin in his hand. “Why do you ask? You want to fight?”

Hop laughs, his boyish grin big and bright. Raihan thinks not for the first time that day, _I want to protect this family._

"No, well, not yet! Once I train more…" Hop rubs his arm. "I was just wondering if you and Lee could maybe have a match here, so I can watch."

"In your house?" Raihan grins.

"Out back," Hop snickers.

"It's up to your brother. How about we eat first?" Raihan suggests, tipping his head in the direction of the kitchen. The smell of food is already beginning to permeate the air. Hop's stomach audibly growls and Raihan can't help his laugh. He ruffles Hop's hair and the boy erupts into giggles.

Supper goes by quickly, with Raihan answering every question directed at him with ease past mouthfuls of flavorful food, as if he wasn't lying through his teeth for most of them or at least bending the truth _somewhat._ His parents are dead, he has multiple siblings, he likes the rain, and he's been a warrior most of his life. It seems to be enough to satisfy most of the family, but Leon keeps giving him curious glances.

"Lee," Hop says afterward as the brothers begin clearing off the table. Raihan steps in to help, he figures it's only polite. "Can I watch you and Raihan spar?"

"I don't know," Leon replies, his eyes darting to Raihan. A smile curls at the Champion's lips. "What does Raihan think?"

"I told him that was up to you," Raihan says with a shrug.

Leon snorts, then laughs a little. "Then, sure. Let's finish cleaning up first!" He gives Hop a hearty smack on the back and the boy startles, almost dropping what are most likely very expensive plates.

They end up outside eventually, the sun already sinking below the horizon, the sky a vast painting of orange and pink and yellow. The moon is already visible, opposite the sun. With it comes a nighttime chill.

Across from Raihan Leon stands in only his trousers, twisting himself at the waist, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders.

( There are, thankfully, no visible marks left by Raihan's mouth from any recent tryst. )

It's a little hard to watch, Raihan feels his face heat up. It just reminds him that Leon is far from a shrinking violet. He just doesn't know if Leon is doing it on _purpose_ to get a reaction out of Raihan. "No weapons," Leon says. "Let's show my little brother you can win a fight without showing your blade. Ready when you are."

Off to the side, far enough to give the pair some space, Hop watches them. The excited energy coming off of the boy is palpable, he's practically buzzing. Well, if Hop wants a show, Raihan will give him a show. If he can survive basically wrestling a shirtless Leon into the dirt without having a problem in his pants.

Raihan unfastens the sheathes of his blades and drops them to the ground, kicking them a few feet behind him. He stretches his arms back, then forward, then above his head.

Then it happens quickly, Leon is upon him and Raihan just barely manages to avoid getting clocked in the jaw. He blocks the blow with his forearm, then jerks his knee up, but Leon twists to the side before it can make contact.

Sure, Raihan has plenty of advantages on his side, including size—but Leon is not a fragile little boy, he's a seasoned warrior and the proof shows in the scars on his skin and the fire in his eyes. Raihan can still hold his own against Leon, but Leon doesn't make it easy.

They move across the small field dodging and blocking blows, weaving in and out, kicking up dust as they move. When Raihan manages to get a handful of Leon's hair, Leon instinctively kicks his leg out and manages to knock Raihan's out from under him.

The grip on his hair relents and Raihan is sent toppling down onto his back. A heel makes contact with his chest and forces Raihan down further. Off to the side, Hop whoops excitedly. Above him, Leon stands illuminated by the sunset, his bare chest heaving, and sweat on his brow, a grin on his face.

Raihan can't help but knock it right off by grabbing Leon's ankle without warning and yanking him off balance, sending him tumbling into the dirt. Raihan acts fast, sitting upright and then pouncing, grabbing him in a headlock and laughing as he practically wrangles the squirming Champion into the dirt.

"Raihan!" Leon whines, almost petulant. "Not fair!"

" _You_ shouldn't be telling me to play fair!" Raihan snickers, but the sound is cut off by a wheeze when Leon's elbow makes contact with his ribs. Before he knows it, Leon is on top of him, pinning him down. This position is a little _too_ familiar, and Raihan suddenly feels like Leon's fifteen-year-old brother shouldn't be here.

Raihan squirms, but Leon's hands on his wrists hold tighter. "Okay, okay, you win," he grumbles, and Leon grins brightly. The Champion rolls off of him and stands up, holding his hand out to Raihan to help him up. Raihan resists the urge to yank Leon back down.

"That was great!" Hop says, bolting right up to them, going a mile a minute. "You both move so fast, but I think I was able to figure out what was going on. I should show some of those moves to Gloria—"

"Oh? Is she training now, too?" Leon asks, picking up his discarded shirt.

"She has been for a while, but a lot of people doubt her." Hop is silent for a moment. "I don't, but if I want to be the best then I have to beat her."

Leon ruffles his brother's hair with a smile. There is something… inscrutable in his eyes, Raihan notes, as he looks at his little brother. Something a little… sad in his smile. Hop doesn't seem to notice, which is for the best. "Being her friend comes first, just remember that."

"Yeah, Lee, I know." Hop pokes Leon in the ribs. Leon wiggles. "Go take a bath, you stink. Both of you."

Leon pokes his tongue out. Raihan snickers and responds with, " _You_ stink!"

All three hurry back to the house, laughing as they go.

—

They stay the night. Leon bathes first, and then Raihan, scrubbing his skin free of dirt and sweat. Raihan had thought beforehand to bring a change of clothes at least, and he finds Leon's room again after pulling a plain tunic and trousers on over his smallclothes. Leon is already curled up in his bed, back to the door.

"Leon?" Raihan says softly, leaning against the doorframe. The Champion rolls onto his back and lifts his head, blinking. "Sorry, were you asleep?"

"Not yet," Leon mumbles, but the look on his face says otherwise. "What is it?"

Raihan scratches his jaw. "I just wanted to know if I could join you." He worries his bottom lip with his teeth. "It doesn't feel right anymore—sleeping alone, that is."

It's the truth. When Raihan _does_ sleep, he sleeps better when he has Leon next to him. Leon is warm and familiar and comfortable, Leon is an anchor, something to hold onto, something to cradle and love, something keeping his immortal soul tied to the mortal realm. Raihan should hate him for that, but he doesn't.

Leon blinks slowly at him, then a sleepy smile stretches over his lips and he holds one arm out. Raihan takes that as invitation enough and steps inside, shutting the wooden door behind him and striding towards Leon's bed, right into Leon's waiting arms.

The bed is hardly big enough for two, so they have to press close together, Raihan practically wrapping all four limbs around Leon's smaller body. Leon wraps an arm around Raihan's back, fingers rubbing into the buttons of his spine, and his other hand cradles the back of his head. Raihan sighs, content. Leon nuzzles into his hair, his fingers toying with his locs.

They say nothing, even though it feels like there are so many things to say. Leon presses a kiss to Raihan's head, and within a few minutes, they've both fallen asleep. Warm, full, sleepy, pleasantly sore from their sparring session, and Raihan filled to the brim with love that he can only hope is reciprocated.

The next morning, before they leave, Leon's mother sends them off with a few small gifts for Leon and a smile for Raihan. A far-too-knowing smile. Raihan ruffles Hop's hair when they bid farewell, exclaiming, "Visit again soon!"

"We will!" Leon replies as he climbs onto Cora's back. Raihan tries not to think too much about the "we" part. Obviously Leon means himself and Cora, not himself and Raihan… right?

Hopefully that question doesn't haunt him for too long.

—

"You're coming to tomorrow's match, right?" Leon asks him one night, his head on Raihan's chest. They are both still catching their breath, their hearts still beating wildly from recent activities, and yet Leon _still_ manages to talk about anything but that. It's just like him. A little infuriating, but endearing all the same.

"I'd never miss a chance to fight you," Raihan says with a grin. "I promise I'll be there, and you better be ready for it."

Leon lifts his head and smiles, then leans in for a long kiss. Against Raihan's lips, he breathes out, "I always am."

—

The next day comes quickly, the weather pleasantly warm, a few clouds dotting the sky. This is thanks to Raihan, of course, who always makes sure the weather for Leon's fights is perfect. Leon likes to see the blue sky, he likes seeing soft and tiny clouds, he likes feeling the sun on his skin—all of this Raihan knows, so he manipulates the weather just for him these days. All for Leon's comfort. It makes him perform better.

Leon leaves his home before Raihan does, and Raihan leaves sometime after. No need for the whole city to know they're sleeping together, after all.

When he reaches the stadium the tournament has just begun. Guards usher Raihan in through one tower and Raihan makes his way up to the seating area until it's time for him to face Leon… which shouldn't be too long from now, judging by how fast he brings down his first opponent.

His second opponent has an unpleasant aura, a sour look on his face, an angry look in his eye. Leon still gives him a good-natured grin, bows to him, and then takes his place across the battlefield. The horn sounds, and the battle starts.

Leon brings the next challenger down effortlessly, hardly two minutes in. Raihan feels a swell of pride at the sight, watching the one he loves continue to prevail and do it with a smile.

The man remains on his knees before Leon for a minute, even when Leon reaches a hand down to help him up. He looks up at Leon slowly and—no, Raihan doesn't like that look in his eye. Instantly he's taking notice of a few men entering from one end of the field. All of them armed, all of them with a clear goal. The crowd begins to chatter in confusion, like they're not sure if this is really part of the plan or not, whether Leon knew this would happen.

"Leon!" Raihan calls, his voice loud over the crowd. "Behind you!"

Leon spins around to see a man with a large ax about to swing down on him and he moves quickly, rolling to the side, the blade hitting the ground where he was only seconds before. Then the man he had just fought is moving again, slipping a blade from his sleeve and—

There is blood, Leon cries out in surprise and pain as the blade lodges itself into his abdomen, striking into a small opening in his armor, and begins to tear upward, just barely avoiding gutting him.

Raihan is already acting. What he does is something he hasn't done in many, many years. Fire fills him from the belly up, embers spat from his lips, and he jumps from the edge and in an instant he's changed in a puff of smoke. In his place now is a giant dark-scaled dragon, who roars loud enough to shake the stadium. And Raihan, in this form, commands attention from everyone around—at least, those who aren't fleeing yet.

" **You will not have him!** "

The god sweeps down, wings kicking up harsh winds. Lightning strikes the ground across the field. The man pulls the blade from Leon's flesh, scrambles away as Leon collapses on the ground, twitching and bleeding from the gaping wound in his abdomen. Raihan stands over him, a giant shield from the men aiming to bring him harm. He’s vaguely aware of Cora tearing into a few men that run their way.

"You!"

One swipe of his claws knocks one man aside.

"Will!"

A sweep of his large tail sends a few flying.

"Not!"

He snaps a man up in his jaws and then spits him out.

" _Have him!_ "

And then he lets out that jet of fire that had been forming, burning in his chest. It sets the field ablaze. Raihan breathes heavily, wings spread out, and he spits out another small jet of flames.

When he looks down he sees Leon is still breathing; shallowly, but still breathing. Still alive. He crouches down and noses him gently but receives no response. So he shifts again, back into the form of a man, and turns Leon's head to the side, keeping his face out of the dirt.

"Leon? Can you hear me?"

"Raihan," Leon mumbles. He sounds distant. Despite that, he manages to push himself onto his knees even with blood spurting out of him. _Any normal man would be screaming in pain._ Leon, however, is not like any normal man. "You're…"

Raihan swallows.

"You're him," Leon finishes. "You're… really him. Raihan. The gods… really are watching me."

And he collapses forward again. Raihan catches him quickly. They need doctors, and fast before Leon bleeds out. Raihan lifts him up quickly, runs past flames and out of the stadium. Leon remains limp in his arms, painting them red with his blood.

He can heal these wounds, he knows, but he's not as good at Nessa or Milo are. He doesn't want to mess anything up. In his mind, he reaches out, out into the heavens and hopes that the others can feel him, that they’ll turn their heads to watch what’s going on and know that _he needs help._

Outside of the stadium, he is accosted by guards who practically rip Leon out of his arms. He snarls as they point their spears and swords at him. Gaze keeps flickering back to Leon who is already being carried away on a stretcher and Raihan so very badly wants to chase them, to be at Leon's side.

"We’re taking him where no one will be able to find him and bring him more harm," one explains, voice stern. "He will be treated. But you… who _are_ you?"

"You know who I am," Raihan spits. Rain is beginning to pour from the clouds gathering above. "And you will _keep your weapons out of my face_ , lest you end up like the men back there. Do you understand?”

The soldiers nod quickly, and Raihan disappears.

—

Word travels fast through the region: the Champion caught for the first time with his guard down, nearly gutted in front of a full stadium of onlookers, barely surviving thanks to a god revealing himself right before their very eyes. The god of storms, who had been posing as a mortal man for the past few months and making a name for himself as the only one worthy of being Leon’s rival. Now the Champion is being treated for his injuries, lucky enough that he didn’t bleed to death before reaching a doctor.

All Raihan has to do when he enters the realm of the gods again is give Nessa a pleading look and she immediately understands. She fetches Milo quickly, who gives Raihan a gentle smile that Raihan can’t even bring himself to return. Shifting into his draconic form, he lowers himself down enough that they can climb onto his back, and then they’re journeying back into the mortal realm.

“You really revealed yourself to everyone?” Milo asks, voice soft, disbelieving, almost inaudible over the heavy beating of Raihan’s wings.

“If I didn’t,” Raihan replies, and like this, his voice is a low rumble, “he would be dead.”

“You realize now that you can’t go back without everyone knowing who you are, right?” Nessa points out. “And who knows what he might think of you now.”

Raihan doesn’t want to think about that. He can only hope that Leon won’t hate him for keeping the secret for so long, but he just wanted Leon to see him as… a normal man, he didn’t want his view of Raihan to be skewed by the fact he was a god. Someone to worship. Someone he believes to be _above_ him when Raihan would gladly go on his knees for him. Raihan would gladly give up everything for him; his domain, his power, he place in the pantheon, just to be by his side.

They remain silent for the rest of the journey. Leon had been transported to a large cabin in the forest outside of Wyndon where Raihan knows he’ll be treated by the best doctors they have. But the best doctors are nothing compared to the gods. When Raihan breaks through the trees, the soldiers guarding the cabin jump into position, ready to fight. Except they freeze once Raihan lands and growls low. Up on the roof, Cora is perched, eyeing them warily.

Nessa and Milo jump off of his back and he shifts back into his mortal form. Raihan rolls his shoulders back, cracks his neck, and works his jaw. All three gods are able to make the guards part with a single look, and their presence alone commands obedience and respect. There are hushed whispers passing through the group as the gods pass, full of awe and disbelief, taking in the image before them: Nessa, in her flowing blue and white robes, daggers hidden in the folds; Milo, dressed in green and brown cloth, silver sparkling in his red hair like stars, looking more humble in comparison yet with a strong aura about him, a staff in his hand; Raihan, tall and graceful, in his dark leather, his furs of brown and black and gray, his eyes sharp, blades glinting at his hips.

The guards and doctors inside snap their heads up as the trio enter. Nessa and Milo walk forward while Raihan lingers back, eyeing the interior of the cabin, quickly counting how many guards are present within, figuring out the best routes to escape with Leon in his arms should someone here try to finish what those men in the stadium started.

Leon is unconscious, it appears. His eyes are closed and his breathing, while labored, is slow. His armor has been pulled off and his shirt has been cut open to reveal the stab wound, jagged and ugly, and while the bleeding appears to have stopped the skin around it already red and inflamed, the beginnings of possible infection. His normally _glowing_ brown skin looks pale, slick with sweat.

Raihan wants to go to him, to gather him in his arms and allow no one close beside Nessa and Milo. Anger boils inside of him again, hot and ugly, but he swallows it down and finally follows after his companions. The doctors have already stepped back, wide-eyed, as the gods take their place at Leon's side.

They wash their hands thoroughly in the basin before Nessa works on numbing the injury with a brush of her hand, then uses a ball of warm water to flush out the wound, ridding it of any dirt and dried blood, while Milo sets his staff aside and pulls out a mortar and pestle from his satchel, followed by a few herbs not found in any mortal land. All of this is passed to Nessa, who makes quick work, mashing the herbs up while Milo pulls another item from his bag of tricks: a needle with a spool of shimmering golden thread. It is enchanted, used only in special circumstances—guaranteed quick healing and to chase away any infection, incapable of being torn by mortal hands.

All Raihan can do is watch them work while making sure none of the mortals around them try to interfere. They just watch as well, too awestruck and too intimidated to even think of stepping in. He reaches over, takes hold of Leon's hand, finding his palm clammy.

"He went into shock," one doctor speaks up. Raihan turns his gaze to them. "Thankfully, he's mostly recovered from it, but he does have a fever—"

"We'll handle it," Milo says, his voice soft but firm. He licks his thumb and draws the thread through the needle. As he begins to suture the wound, Leon twitches. Milo pauses for a moment, waiting for Leon to still, and then continues working. Meanwhile, Nessa has set the poultice aside for the time being and is applying a cold compress to Leon's sweaty forehead.

As the thread is drawn tight, Leon stirs again and his eyes snap open. He looks around, appearing rather frantic, not sure where he is or what's going on.

"What—" He's cut off by a hiss of pain when he moves. Raihan squeezes his hand tightly while using his other hand to hold him by the shoulder to keep him still.

"You're safe," Raihan promises. Leon blinks blearily, turning his gaze to Raihan, and something flashes in it but Raihan can't tell what it is. But those eyes do widen a bit, Leon looks like he wants to say something, but he just nods shakily and drops his head back, staring at the high ceiling.

Each time the needle pokes into his skin Leon squeezes Raihan's hand, and Raihan shoots Nessa a questioning look. All she does is quirk her mouth down and shrug. Leon doesn't notice the look, says nothing, keeps his stare upward and expression blank. There is some color returning to his cheeks, but he still looks tired and ill. Raihan dares to use his free hand to brush the hair from Leon's face, but Leon doesn't react.

The sutures are done, poultice is applied, and they jostle Leon just a little bit so they can remove the rest of his ruined shirt and properly wrap the wound in cloth.

Leon lies there again for another few moments in complete silence, and then he manages to push himself up—not without his breath hitching and face screwing up in pain, however, with the movement making the pain of the wound in his abdomen flare up. His eyes are heavily lidded, he looks at Raihan, and then Milo and Nessa. Lips part like he wants to speak, but struggles to find the words, until he finally manages a, "Thank you."

The hand in Raihan's pulls away and Raihan finds himself missing the warmth of it immediately.

"Try not to be a hero for a few days, until you heal," Milo says with a smile. "The thread will disappear on its own."

"So don't be stupid and get stabbed again," Nessa says, reaching over to ruffle Leon's hair. "Lucky for you, there's someone who cares about you a lot."

She looks pointedly at Raihan when she says that. Raihan looks away quickly but can feel Leon's eyes on him now. Another beat of silence and then Milo says, "We'll be outside, Raihan. Whenever you're ready."

Milo and Nessa take their leave swiftly, bringing the gaggle of guards and doctors with them. The door to the room shuts, leaving Leon alone with Raihan. They remain silent for a long time, even with Leon staring directly at Raihan and Raihan refusing to meet his gaze. He's not entirely sure what he's feeling right now. Guilt, maybe. Or shame. Burning hot and sick in his gut, bubbling up into his chest then creeping up like bile in his throat. Leon knows who he is now, found out in a way far from what Raihan planned, and he wishes the circumstances were different—but how much longer would he have continued to put it off if none of this happened?

Finally Raihan breaks the agonizing silence, slowly sitting down in the chair beside the bed as he speaks, "Are you angry with me?"

Leon searches his face, lips pressing into a tight line. Then, "I don't know."

Raihan doesn't know how to feel about that answer. Leon keeps staring at him but only looks away once Raihan finally has the courage to stare back. It stings a bit.

"Were you just going to keep lying to me?" Leon asks. He sounds troubled, understandably. "Why didn't you just tell me before? 'Devout worshipers'—yeah _right._ "

"Because I—" His throat burns. It's all going to tumble out now and Raihan isn't sure if he'll be able to stop himself once he gets started. He drops his hands into his lap, unsure of what to do with them. "I knew you would treat me differently if you knew, and I…"

He sucks in a deep breath. "It wasn't part of the plan. Getting close to you, I mean. I just wanted to talk to you once, I thought it would help me get over it, but it didn't. It made me want to be around you more, and— and I wanted to tell you someday, I just didn't know _when._ Leon, there is so much I've wanted to tell you."

When he reaches over to take Leon's hand in his the Champion doesn't pull away. He just looks down at their joined hands with a thoughtful expression. His other hand fumbles with the cold compress that's fallen into his lap.

"Like what?" Leon finally presses.

"That I…" Raihan works his jaw, then sighs. "That I've been in love with you before I even met you."

Leon looks at him in the eye now and his gaze is a difficult one to parse, confused and muddled and shocked and maybe even _scared._ His hand twitches in Raihan's grasp.

"If you loved me back, I wanted you to love me as a _man,_ not as a god."

Leon is silent for a little longer, obviously deep in thought. Finally, he says in a voice uncharacteristically small, "Give me time to think." Raihan's hand is lifted by both of Leon's, thumbs rubbing over his knuckles. "When I'm ready, I'll call for you."

All Raihan can do is nod. If Leon needs space after this, he understands, if Leon won't ever be ready to talk to him after this, he understands. But he hopes that Leon won't deny the bond they shared, Raihan's soft declarations of want and need whispered against his lips, into his skin. All the soft touches and shared looks and secret smiles.

He hopes Leon loves him, too.

"Raihan," Leon says as Raihan pulls his hand away and begins to stand. "Thank you, though, for—helping me. I just never… never expected anyone would do that to me… I never thought I'd be beaten so easily… I…"

Oh, this must have been a massive blow to his ego. To be the best, and then struck down by a group of angry thugs with much less training who were envious of you and your power. Raihan gives Leon's hair a stroke.

"It's not your fault," Raihan says. "Go visit your family for a while. It will help you get your mind off of it. I'm sure the news has reached them by now, they must be worried sick."

"Okay," Leon murmurs. "I will."

"Be well, Leon," Raihan says, then leans over to press a kiss to Leon's brow. "I'll be waiting."

With that, he swiftly exits the room, throwing one more glance at Leon, who is now lying back in bed again, over his shoulder before he steps out.

He, Nessa, and Milo return home in silence.

—

"I told him," Raihan says as he stands in Melony's garden, sleeves rolled up, his hands and arms covered in soil. He never really imagined helping in gardens could be so soothing if one has a busy mind, though he figures helping Melony with her small garden is much different than helping Milo in his vast fields. He pulls a golden carrot from the ground and brushes dirt off of it, inspects it, then tosses it into the basket. "That I love him, I mean."

Melony doesn't respond for a few moments. When she works on her garden she always takes her ring off, Raihan's noticed. So she doesn't get it dirty. He watches her soft hands pull out the vegetables from the ground.

"I know," she finally says without even looking at him. "I always know these things, Raihan."

Right, of course she would. Goddess of love, and all.

"He didn't say it back," she continues, making Raihan flinch. Of course, she'd know _that_ too. He doesn't say anything but does pull a carrot out maybe a little _too_ rough. Melony reaches over and smacks him over the back of the head.

"Ow!" He jolts upright and glares at her.

"Don't take your frustration out on my garden," she scolds, poking him in the chest.

"Yes ma'am," he mumbles, face hot.

"Now, just because he didn't say it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it," she states matter-of-factly. "What _did_ he say?"

"To give him time to think," he responds, thinking back to just a few days ago. There have been times where he's been tempted to check in on Leon through the pools, but he knows it will just make him impatient. All he knows is Leon is in Postwick with his family as he recovers. Leon needs time, so Raihan will give him time and— and give _himself_ time as well. He needs to prepare for any possible answer from Leon. Maybe Leon loves him, too, or maybe Leon hates him for lying to him. Maybe Leon thinks he's no better than the men who have lied to him in the past simply to get into his bed, but Raihan's goal was never to sleep with Leon.

He's angry at himself for putting it off, but how would have Leon reacted before? Raihan didn't want him to fear him, or treat him like he was better, stronger; Raihan wanted only to be his equal, his friend, someone to rely on.

"Hmm." Melony looks up at him, her head tilting. "Then give him time."

"I am."

"Fate is a tricky thing, even us gods should not meddle with it," she continues. "What is meant to happen will happen. All any of us can do is watch."

—

A few days turn into a week, a week turns into two, two turns into three, and Raihan is starting to fear for the worst. He busies himself with his duties in an effort to distract himself and keep him from checking in on Leon, but he can't fight the awful feeling Leon won't ever call for him. That Leon won't want to talk to him again, or see him.

But one day when he's napping in the sunlight in his domain, a distant voice rouses him from his dreams. Raihan blinks his eyes open and the voice gets progressively louder, echoing clearly in his head.

 _"Raihan."_ It's… Leon's voice. Leon is calling for him. Leon wants to talk to him? Leon wants to talk to him! Raihan scrambles to his feet. _"I don't know if you're listening, but I want to see you again. I'm ready."_

Raihan is already disappearing and reappearing in front of the pools looking into the mortal realm. Leon is inside a shrine, kneeling before Raihan's altar, his head bowed low as he speaks softly.

_"I want to talk to you, I've been thinking so much…"_

He wastes no time. Within moments he's materializing within the shrine, a few feet behind Leon who hasn't seemed to have noticed him yet. Outside Raihan can hear rain pouring, and he becomes aware that Leon's clothes and hair appear a little damp. A flick of his hand and the rain outside dies down into a light drizzle before ceasing entirely.

Leon rises to his feet with a sigh. Raihan remains silent, waiting, watching. The Champion brushes dust off of the front of his trousers and turns slowly—and then he freezes. Golden eyes travel from Raihan's boots and then up, up, up to Raihan's face, taking him in. Raihan stops himself from shifting around nervously, he just holds Leon's gaze steadily and watches Leon process what's going on.

"That was fast," Leon finally says.

Raihan grins, warm. "We're always listening." He then takes a step forward. Leon follows suit. "And I've been… waiting."

Looking at Leon now, he can tell that the man is healing well. Unsurprising given the fact he was treated by gods. He moves without any sign of pain, but he still takes things slowly. Learning his limits and respecting them instead of pushing himself to his brink all over again. Leon needed this time of recovery, time away from demanding responsibilities.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Leon says. He scratches his nose. "I thought about what you said. And… I just… Raihan…"

"Leon?" Raihan watches as Leon sinks to the hard stone floor of the shrine, folding his legs. Quickly he's taking his seat right in front of him, looking down at him curiously.

"I don't care that you're a god. I understand why you didn't tell me at first, but you could have told me _sooner._ "

Raihan winces. "I know. I'm sorry."

"You also could have told me how—how you felt earlier. That you loved me. You didn't have to wait until I was nearly killed." Leon sounds frustrated, understandably so; however, he is reaching forward and taking Raihan's hands in his own. "Because…"

He swallows.

"I'm in love with you, too, Raihan."

Whatever emotion washes over Raihan then at that moment he struggles to place a name on. It's a mix of excitement and relief and happiness and adoration. Raihan has to stop himself from lunging forward and tackling Leon to the ground to press kisses all over his face. What he _does_ do is lean forward somewhat, which Leon does as well.

"For a while. I've been in love with you for a while," Leon continues. "But you've loved me longer. I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

Raihan can't help but laugh. "Nothing to apologize for. It’s not like you knew, right? But now you do, and…" He trails off.

Leon is silent. Raihan is silent. They're both silent, but the tension in the air is thick.

Then Leon is on him, taking hold of his face, fitting their mouths together. Kissing him and kissing him, hands stroking his cheeks and then tangling into his locs. Raihan grunts and rests his hands on Leon's waist, tilting his head just enough to kiss him back more comfortably. The stone floor of the shrine digs into his rear a little unpleasantly, but Leon is already in his lap, already pressed so close that Raihan doesn’t want to pull away in fear that Leon might fade.

“How long have you loved me?” Leon suddenly asks into Raihan’s mouth but barely gives him any room to respond, like he’ll die if he stops kissing him. Raihan has to practically force them apart with a breathy laugh just so he can speak.

How long has he loved Leon? A brilliant question, because Raihan still can’t pinpoint an exact time. Did it happen gradually, or all at once? All he knows is it’s been quite some time, at least since he gave Leon that dragon egg years beforehand even if he refused to admit it to himself. One of Raihan’s hands reaches up to pull Leon’s out of his locs, curling around his warm hand and kissing his knuckles.

“Long enough,” he replies. The stone under him is getting more uncomfortable by the moment, so he shifts around a little in hopes Leon will get the message. He doesn’t. “At least since—do you remember when you were given Cora’s egg?”

“Yes, I was still eighteen then. I hadn’t expected—”

“I had been listening to you the day before. It was the first time I remember you praying to me,” Raihan says. “Most eggs are laid by one of my dragons, but that one—I crafted that one especially for you.”

Leon stares at him, his eyes shining. “Especially for me?” Then he laughs. He slips his hand out of Raihan’s and uses it to caress his cheek. Raihan presses a kiss to his palm. “You know how to make a man feel special.”

“You _are_ special,” Raihan breathes against Leon’s palm. “You’ve always been special, Leon. To everyone. To me. I love you.”

Leon rubs his thumb over Raihan’s cheekbone. “I love you, too.” And then his face goes serious, dead serious, brows furrowing. “I promise I’ll love you even when… I’m old and gray.”

“That’s quite a big promise,” Raihan says with a smile, but it’s a harsh reminder of reality: Leon is, in the end, still a mortal, when Raihan is not. Leon can get sick, Leon can get hurt, Leon will age, Leon will eventually die because he doesn’t have the luxury of immortality. “And I’ll love you even when you’re old and gray and your stunning good looks fade away.”

“They _will not_ —”

Raihan huffs out a laugh, but there is something sad in it. He finally manages to get Leon to climb off of him so they can both stand up, but Raihan remains arched over him so their brows can touch. “You’ll always be beautiful, to me.”

There is a long stretch of silence.

“What will you do?” Leon asks suddenly, his voice hushed, his eyes… distant. “After that. When I’m gone. What will you do?”

There are many things Raihan could and would do. Mourn, of course, but there are other things—things that could have Leon at his side forever, where death could never touch him. But would Leon want that? Raihan has to think more about it, but it’s a subject neither of them can avoid for too long.

“Let me think about that,” Raihan says. “Not now. Right now, I’d like to…”

“Come home with me?” Leon finishes for him with a wide grin.

“Yes.” Raihan drops his hands back to Leon’s waist and presses a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go.”

—

That night, as Leon lies on his back among his blankets and pillows and Raihan is nuzzling gently at the still-tender, still-fresh scar on his abdomen, pressing feather-light kisses, they finally talk a bit more.

“The people will talk,” Leon says, staring up at the ceiling. “I wonder what they’ll have to say.”

“They’ll still adore you,” Raihan replies, lifting his head with a lazy smile. He leans over and kisses Leon’s sternum, and then his collarbone. Leon strokes his nape and hums thoughtfully. Even post-sex Leon is still thinking, thinking, thinking. Raihan considers just kissing him silly so he’ll get out of his own head, but he’ll let Leon ponder a little while further. “They’ll always adore you.”

The god kisses the corner of Leon’s lips, and then fully on the mouth. Leon winds his arms around his neck. Their noses bump together.

“Maybe they’ll write stories about this,” Leon thinks aloud. “The god in love with the Champion. The bards would have fun with that.”

“Oh, they would. I only hope they make sure to pay special attention to describing the Champion’s shining golden eyes and flowing purple hair and pretty face and r—”

“Okay! That’s enough!” Leon laughs, giving Raihan a strong shove to force him off. Leon props himself up on his elbow as Raihan lands on his side beside him. The thick blankets pool around his bare hips and Raihan admires the muscle beneath his exposed skin, rakes his eyes over each scar he finds on his body, takes in the bruises left by his lips and teeth. “They wax poetic about my appearance enough as it is.”

“But I don’t,” Raihan says, giving Leon’s wrist a tug. He rolls onto his back and Leon lets himself be tugged along, pulled onto his chest. Long hair spills over his shoulder, tickling against Raihan’s chest and making him wiggle a little. “I don’t think I’ve ever really told you just how beautiful I think you are. How beautiful I know you are.”

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to,” the god breathes, pressing his finger to Leon’s lips to hush him. “You’re brighter than the sun and you glow like the moon, your eyes look like Opal herself wove the stars into them, your smile infects even the most serious of men, and—”

Leon bites his finger, cutting Raihan off and making him jerk his hand back. “Leon!”

Leon grins down at him, looking far too smug. Raihan pushes himself up to kiss that look off of his face, which was probably Leon’s plan to begin with. Tricky little thing. The Champion laughs into his mouth, smoothing his hands out over Raihan’s back.

“I love you,” Leon mumbles. “I’m not as good with words as you are, but I still love you. I think you’re very handsome.”

“I know I’m very handsome,” Raihan teases. Leon bites his bottom lip hard in retaliation. Raihan whines. “Okay! Okay. Thank you, Leon.”

The Champion nuzzles his cheek, pleased. Raihan winds both of his arms around him and pulls him flush against his chest, breathing in deep. He nuzzles into that mess of purple hair and kisses the top of his head. They fall into a comfortable silence.

Then Raihan speaks again, his voice barely above a whisper, “I love you, too, Leon. My Champion.”

Wait.

“Oh, that’s it,” Raihan says, louder now. Leon lifts his head up to squint at him in confusion.

“What—?”

They both sit up then. Raihan takes hold of Leon’s face and grins wide. “Be my Champion, Leon.”

It’s an obvious solution! That’s all Leon needs to do, and if he is Raihan’s Champion they can be together always. And with his capabilities it would be _easy,_ so easy!

Leon lifts his hands to take hold of Raihan’s on his face. “I’m already the peoples’ Cha—”

“You can still be that, but you can be mine, too. Just…” Raihan leans in, touching their foreheads together. “You’ll have to do many things for me, is all. Fight in my name sometimes. Bring offerings to me daily. Do quests for me. And when you… die,” he hates the thought of Leon dying, no matter what, “You can join me in the realm of the gods, young and strong again. And we can be together, always.”

The Champion continues staring at him, his brow furrowed like he’s deep in thought. Which he probably is. After all, what Raihan just offered is no small feat. It’s a lifelong task, a lifelong dedication, one Leon could easily step out of whenever he wanted to. But Leon is strong, Leon doesn’t give up that easily, and Raihan only hopes he’s not vastly overestimating Leon’s love for him.

“Okay, Raihan,” Leon finally says. “I can do that, for you.”

Raihan laughs loudly, scooping Leon back up into his arms and kissing him breathless.

It might take a while, but they’ll figure things out as they go. They’ll do it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy valentine's day!
> 
> sorry this took a while to get out. i had some major writer's burnout and then my lovely bf came to visit and then i came down with a pretty nasty cold i'm still recovering from.
> 
> i wrote 95% of this chapter across multiple nights on my phone between midnight and 1am so it's bad
> 
> next chapter... leon pov. for now *i sleep*
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/zhamusiel)  
> [tumblr](http://hellfirecitadel.tumblr.com)


	4. these are the times we will hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is how it’s always been meant to be. Planned by fate long before he was even born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sometimes it takes times like these to know you're in [the right place.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efTEqGz863k)
> 
> ( this chapter contains sexual content. it also contains trans pregnancy, and while i tried to keep it not too graphic, i'm putting a warning so no one is caught off guard and made dysphoric. not much of a real plot in this chapter, more of an epilogue with just snippets of their life together. )

It's his twenty-third birthday, and just like his last, he doesn't spend it alone.

Leon cracks his eyes open at the feeling of his bed sinking beneath an added weight. Normally, anyone would be alarmed, but Leon knows Cora would kick up a fuss if it were anyone or anything dangerous—plus, he's expecting someone anyway. He’s always expecting someone. A smile breaks out over his face, warm and sleepy, when he sees the bleary figure of Raihan coming into view as the god settles down on the edge of the bed.

“Good morning,” he mumbles, voice rough from sleep. One hand lifts so he can rub the blurriness from his eyes with his palm. He spits away a few long hairs sticking to his lips, cursing himself for not thinking to tie his hair back the night before. “When did you get here?”

“Just now,” Raihan replies. His fingers take hold of Leon’s wrist, tugging his hand away from his face so he can cradle his cheek. Long fingers playfully pinch his soft cheek. “You slept in again, you know.”

Leon blinks, lifting his head. “Did I?” Then he drops his head again. “It’s my birthday, I can if I want to.”

“But not all day.” Without warning, Raihan drops his hand to wiggle his fingers into Leon’s ribs. He squawks in alarm and flails his limbs before erupting into giggles, practically kicking the blankets off and nearly shoving Raihan off the bed with his foot. Leon always has a tendency to… flail, when he's being tickled. Not on purpose, he just kind of loses control of his limbs.

When Raihan pulls back, Leon lies there, his breathing heavy, and when he shoots Raihan a glare Raihan just laughs. "Come on, get up, we're going out today."

It takes another few minutes of convincing for Leon to finally roll out of bed, still a little grumpy. Raihan makes him something to eat and Leon keeps throwing small pieces of fruit at him, making the god snort and snicker as he bats them away. Leon thinks it's adorable, and enough to make him stop being too annoyed that Raihan woke him up after he was having a really good sleep.

It's the middle of summer, but summers in Galar are rarely too harsh. It's pleasantly sunny when they leave the little home they built outside of Wyndon, just for they two, but Leon still wears his cloak. It's a comfortable, grounding weight around his shoulders, and when he had first explained that to Raihan he was more than relieved that he understood.

_"My brain works a little differently. I don't know how to explain it."_

Raihan had just nodded as Leon tried to explain to the best of his ability, and then leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.

Outside of the cabin, Cora sleeps in the sunlight on her back, basking in the warmth. Leon approaches her and strokes her snout, causing her eyes to crack open. He offers her a berry and she rumbles appreciatively as she snaps it up then rolls onto her belly, then rises onto all fours so Leon can saddle her up.

It's good that nowadays he and Raihan can walk the streets of Wyndon without anyone giving Raihan nervous stares, growing steadily used to the presence of a god among them whenever he comes to the mortal realm—which, unfortunately, isn't as often as he used to. Leon doesn't mind, he knows Raihan has a role to play and duties to fulfill. Even if he loves Leon.

So each time Raihan returns to him he cherishes it. Raihan keeps an arm around Leon's waist when they walk, as Cora soars in the skies overhead. A few people call out greetings, which Leon happily returns.

The day is spent in relative peace, flitting in and out of shops, stopping at a tavern at one point for a drink, though Leon finds his bag heavy with gifts from random strangers by the time the sun is already dipping low in the sky. Raihan and Leon retreat somewhere familiar: the stadium, the one where Leon has his matches, the one where they met, the one they always fought together in.

The structure casts a large shadow in the light of the setting sun. It glows almost golden, and it’s beautiful, but his eyes keep trailing to the man at his side.

“Let’s spar,” Raihan says with a sharp smile, squeezing Leon’s hip.

Leon can’t help but grin. “You already know the outcome.”

“We’ll see.”

On the field, they move together easily, kicking up dirt and dust beneath their feet. They move more like they’re dancing rather than fighting, ducking and weaving in and out, dodging with graceful pivots of their heels and twists of their waist. But then it ends as it always does: Raihan knocked to the ground, Leon standing above him with his chest heaving with each breath. He grins wide, and Raihan grins back.

“What’s it like to be beaten by a mortal?” Leon can’t help but tease as he helps Raihan to his feet. Raihan snorts.

“As if you’re a typical mortal,” Raihan responds, dropping his stave and immediately pulling Leon in by the waist, pressing kisses along his neck, making Leon laugh. “I can’t even be angry when you beat me now, not when you look so beautiful doing it—”

“Okay, flatterer,” Leon chuckles, his hands coming up to Raihan’s face to pull his head back. He squishes his cheeks and Raihan wrinkles his nose. “Now, how about we start heading home?”

Raihan doesn’t release Leon from his grasp yet. In fact, he suddenly looks contemplative. Now that Leon thinks about it, throughout the day Raihan had moments where he seemed lost in thought, or was giving Leon odd looks. Worry begins to nag at his brain, and he drops his hands to Raihan’s shoulders.

“Let’s not go home just yet,” Raihan says, his voice gentle. He releases Leon and picks up his stave, and Leon, in mild confusion, follows after him. They place the staves back where they belong and then exit the stadium. Raihan leads him through the streets wordlessly, towards the closest gate leading out of the city, and then they stop the second they step foot outside of it.

A smile is flashed towards Leon, and then in a current of wind, a crackle of electricity, a cloud of dark mist, that mighty dragon form he’s hardly ever seen stands before him. Raihan shakes himself out, stretches his wings, then says, with his voice a deep rumble, “Get on.”

Leon, without question, climbs onto Raihan’s back. He’s used to riding dragons thanks to Cora, who circles above them, but Raihan is much bigger and there is no saddle. So he leans forward and holds on tight to Raihan’s neck as the god rises up into the air, his wings kicking up mighty gusts of wind.

But then when they’re in the sky, painted orange and pink from the sunset, it takes Leon’s breath away. He sits up a little straighter, adjusts himself on Raihan’s back as Raihan soars through the sky. Cora flies beside him, easily keeping up with his speed.

Below them is the forest, ahead of them are snow-capped mountains. Leon laughs breathlessly as they fly and he wonders why, just why, it took him so long to truly appreciate the beauty the world has to offer. Maybe falling in love had to do with it, maybe it opened his eyes, let him know he could be so much more than he was, focus on so much more, actually _live._

He doesn’t know for how long they fly, but by the time Raihan is turning and heading back toward Wyndon the sun is long gone, replaced by the moon high above them. Leon finds himself dozing off on Raihan’s back, but the other lets out a rumble that sounds a lot like a chuckle and says, “Don’t fall asleep yet, you might fall off.”

Raihan flies over Wyndon, towards the forest to the south, and then he dips downward and Leon has to hold tight as he folds his wings closer to his body and the speed increases. The wind whips past his face, makes his hair go everywhere, and he pinches his eyes shut so they don’t burn. And then Raihan makes a sharp angle and straightens out, before breaking through the trees and landing with a thud. Cora lands beside them moments later.

Leon, a little dizzy, slowly climbs off of his back when he sees they’re in front of the cabin. He takes a moment to steady himself on Raihan’s shoulder as the god shifts back into his usual form, then he laughs.

“Let’s do that more often?” He suggests, looking up at Raihan.

“We can,” Raihan replies. “So long as you don’t put a saddle on me.”

The Champion snickers. “Then we have a deal.” He pulls back, then begins to walk towards the door of the cabin. “Anyway, let’s—”

“Leon,” Raihan suddenly says, making Leon turn around to find Raihan hasn’t moved at all. He’s look at him with that weird expression again. After a few moments, Raihan begins striding towards him. “I have something to ask you. I’ve been waiting all day.”

“All day?” Leon echoes. “Why?”

“I wanted us to be alone,” Raihan explains. Leon cocks his head to the side. “But it’s… important.”

Then he falls silent. Leon watches as he nibbles on his bottom lip, realizing he can’t remember the last time he saw Raihan looking so nervous. Is something the matter? What is it he has to ask? Leon reaches over to touch his arms. “Raihan, what is—”

“Marry me,” Raihan says suddenly. “I mean, will you marry me?”

Leon stares at him in stunned silence, his eyes wide and jaw agape. Out of everything he expected, that wasn’t even on the list. Leon never even considered a god would be interested in marriage, let alone with a mortal. Leon never even considered _Raihan_ of all people would be interested in marriage, but Raihan always has a knack for surprising Leon.

His hands begin to tremble. Heat pricks behind his eyes.

Then the tears start.

“Ah— Leon?! Are you okay?!” And of course Raihan worries, he always worries. The god takes Leon’s face in his hands and desperately tries to wipe the tears away with his thumbs. Leon sniffles, the words he wants to say are caught halfway up his throat, blocked by the lump there. “I’m so sorry love, is it too much? Too early?”

Leon manages to shake his head, then grabs Raihan’s wrists to pull his hands from his face. He hiccups, but manages a wobbly smile.

“I’ll marry you,” he manages to say past his tears. “Of course I will. Of _course_ I will. Raihan, I—” He’s cut off by a sob, but Raihan is immediately pulling him into a tight embrace. Leon can feel him trembling against him.

Oh, is he crying, too?

Leon turns his head to look up, finding that Raihan does, indeed, have tears streaking down his cheeks. It makes his smile widen. He nuzzles back into Raihan’s chest, holding him tight. Beside them Cora lets out a low hum, then stalks over to shove her nose in. Her hot breath puffs over Leon’s face as she sniffs him, and then Raihan’s as she inspects him next. The god laughs, reaching up to pat her on the nose.

“Melony and Nessa helped me make… something for you,” Raihan says, his voice shaky. He manages to release Leon long enough to dig into his own bag, and what he pulls out is a glimmering golden necklace embedded with red gems. It’s not painfully fancy, nothing extravagant, but it’s still beautiful. “It took a while, I kept messing up, but… I…”

“It’s lovely,” Leon says quickly, which makes Raihan stare at him. He blinks, a few more tears slipping out. “Raihan, thank you, thank you—”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Raihan steps closer and pushes Leon’s hair back so he can fit the necklace around his neck. It hangs just over his collarbone. Leon reaches up to brush his fingers over the one of the gems. “Thank Melony and Nessa for being patient enough to help me.”

“I can thank all of you,” Leon shoots back with a grin. He runs his hands up Raihan’s chest to his shoulders.

Raihan leans in a little. “Also I, um, visited your family the other day. Got your mum’s blessing.”

Leon stares at him, then shoves his face into his chest to muffle his mix of a sob and a laugh.

“She was ecstatic,” Raihan continues, lifting Leon’s face with both hands. He ducks down and kisses Leon; it tastes like tears. “Said I’ve always been a part of the family, ever since she first met me.”

“That sounds like her,” Leon says against his lips. He sighs heavily, happily. “Let’s go inside, Raihan. We need a bath.”

Raihan grins into his mouth, happily going along as Leon takes his hand and pulls him inside.

—

They end up in Leon's bed, kissing and kissing and kissing, Leon's hands stroking Raihan's face. Having just left the bath, they have no worry about the hassle of removing clothes. Leon arches under Raihan's touch, straddles his thigh and pants into his mouth as that hand dips lower, and lower, and lower. Whimpers when those fingers press inside of him.

Raihan takes hold of Leon's damp hair, tugging his head aside enough to latch his mouth onto the soft skin of his neck and leave a mark in its wake. They get lost in one another easily, fueled by pure love and passion, only capable of focusing on one another.

"I love you," Leon says breathlessly some many minutes later, their fingers interlaced, his hands pinned to the sheets as Raihan moves his hips, striking in deep. He feels himself getting closer and closer to his peak, his thighs quaking where they rest against Raihan's waist.

In times like this he feels so terrifyingly vulnerable, open and bare, every emotion exposed. Even the times he slept with other men he never let himself be so open. But with Raihan it's okay, it will always be okay.

Raihan slows his movements for a moment and blinks down at Leon and he is _so_ beautiful. Perhaps it should be typical of a god to be beautiful, but it takes Leon's breath away every single time. He pulls one trembling hand from Raihan's and reaches up, stroking the other's warm cheek. Raihan turns his face into it and smiles as he says, "I love you, too."

It only takes another minute for them both to reach their high, shaking and panting, Leon desperately trying to move his hips to the rhythm of Raihan's sloppy thrusts. He feels Raihan release in him with a heavy moan, and it's met with his own, the sound loudly tumbling from his lips.

They lie there beside one another, panting, trying to steady their heartbeats. Leon takes Raihan's hand tightly.

 _He's going to be my husband,_ he thinks with a dreamy smile.

There really is a life for him outside of being a _hero._

Raihan leaves in the morning with a promise that he'll be back soon and to simply pray for him should he need him.

It's always the hardest part, watching Raihan leave, but the god does his best not to be gone for too long. Leon knows he's always watching over him, too.

He still has to hold back tears each time.

—

They wed a month later, just outside of Leon’s home in Postwick. It’s the beginning of autumn, there is a slight chill in the air, but they’re warm from their love and that’s enough.

This is enough.

Leon, when he looks at the ring now on his finger, doesn’t think he could ever be happier.

—

It happens when Leon is training by himself at the edge of the woods, targets set up against trees. He notches arrows and fires them at a rapid rate, hitting each target dead center every time, splitting multiple arrows in the process. There had been nausea building in his gut ever since he woke up, which caused him to forgo breakfast for fear of throwing it back up.

But now, just as he’s about to fire an arrow, a sudden sharp, cramping pain shoots down his spine, twists in his gut, makes his legs nearly give out. The arrow flies and misses the target by a large margin, and Leon drops himself down to one knee and proceeds to empty the contents of his stomach.

Cora, who had been watching, is at his side immediately. She shields him with her wing and rumbles, chirps, noses at him in worry. Leon shakily pats her snout and wipes the sweat from his brow and the saliva from his chin with his sleeve. He coughs weakly.

Is he ill? Ugh, that isn’t what he wants to deal with now, but he supposes he’ll have to stop by the doctor in Wyndon soon if it doesn’t go away.

When it happens again the next morning, and the next, he decides to suck it up and ride Cora into Wyndon.

—

Weeks later, after multiple check-ups, far-too-thorough inspections, and some weird tests he’s not even sure work, the doctor tells him he’s with child.

Leon says nothing. He just hands the gold over and leaves, letting that information process. To be honest, he doesn’t know how to feel about it. It’s not unheard of for men like him to bear children, but he never thought it would happen to _him._

He lies in bed, alone, touching his belly.

And then he gets up and makes his way outside to the makeshift altar he set up beside the cabin.

All he has to do is say Raihan’s name. In a sudden gust of wind, the god stands behind him. Leon stands up slowly, turns to him, looks at him for a moment. Raihan tilts his head, looking thoroughly confused, waiting for an explanation that Leon doesn’t know how to give. The child isn’t going to be like any other child, it’s going to be a demigod. Leon doesn’t know what that entails, doesn’t know if they’ll have to be treated a certain way, doesn’t know if it will complicate the pregnancy—

“I,” Leon begins, then takes a deep breath. “Am going to have your child.”

Raihan stares at him. “What?”

“I’m going to have your child,” Leon repeats. “You’re going to be a father.” _We’re both going to be fathers._

It all happens so quickly—Raihan is rushing forward and picking Leon off of the ground, hugging him tight, spinning him. The motion makes Leon a little nauseated, and he scrunches his eyes shut. He knows he should be happy, and he _is,_ but at the same time it’s causing some conflicting feelings to bubble up. It makes his skin itch.

Leon brings Raihan inside, and they talk.

Raihan tells him demigod children are born just as any normal child is, if raised by a mortal they can be raised just as any normal child and even go their whole lives without knowing of their demigod status. Raihan says he will be there for him more, refuses to let him spend the pregnancy alone, will even go to Melony and Milo for advice on what to do.

Then he reaches over and tucks Leon’s hair out of his face. “It’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.” Raihan reaches down to brush his fingers over Leon’s belly. “Both of you.”

—

Her name is Jasmine. She’s born in early summer, not long before Leon turns twenty-four. As she grows, she looks more and more like Raihan; as she grows, her strength does, and she learns early on the art of swordfighting. Leon, with fatherhood so suddenly thrust upon him, has little time for his duties as Champion—but even when he is finally bested by that girl named Gloria, he can’t help but be disappointed.

He’s never lost.

But he has a family now, and his daughter only grows older, her smile wide and vibrant, her golden eyes sparkling, and Leon thinks that it’s fine. He can pass on the mantle now.

Another child comes eventually, another daughter named Willow, a spitting image of Leon. Whereas Jasmine was more well-behaved, Willow is… certainly a terror, even if she could be sweet. That doesn’t stop her fathers from loving her with all their heart.

Raihan is so very good with them, it’s like being a father comes naturally to him, though he had insisted he’d never had children before. He is home more often now, Leon knows he wants to be a constant part of his daughters’ lives. And as he promised years before, he remains Raihan’s Champion, so even death won’t ever part them.

One night he lies in bed with his husband and his eight-year-old and four-year-old children, staring at his wedding ring in the dark as the others sleep, and he smiles so wide his face hurts.

—

The years pass by. Leon can feel himself getting older, can feel his body wearing down, but Raihan still loves him all the same. Still holds him, kisses him, calls him beautiful. Their daughters have gone off to live their own lives now, and sometimes the cabin gets a little lonely when Raihan can’t be there. Cora is still there, and she will be there for a long time, even when Leon eventually leaves, but he knows she’ll continue to watch over his family.

Raihan tucks a strand of graying hair behind Leon’s ear and smiles at him. Leon smiles back, he knows the skin at the corners of his eyes is wrinkled from how much he’s smiled, how much he’s laughed in his life. Raihan does a good job at making him feel a little less old, allowing his form to age with Leon’s.

“I love you,” Leon says, touching their foreheads together. He really can’t believe it’s lasted this long, what they have. It’s nearing forty years now. So long, but their love never faded, will never fade, even if Leon sometimes feels himself fading. Raihan takes his hand and kisses his ring, which has lost most of its shine with age.

“I love you, too,” Raihan replies, his voice soft.

Leon begins to cry, and he latches onto Raihan’s shoulders, buries his face there while Raihan strokes his hair soothingly. “Always,” Leon croaks. “Forever.”

“Forever,” Raihan agrees.

Forever, that sounds nice.

—

Ten years later, Leon knows he’s about to die. He can feel it in his body, in how he struggles so much to take care of himself. Jasmine, with her children, moved into the cabin to take care of him in his old age. It’s kind of a blow to his pride, to be struggling so much, but that’s just what it’s like being mortal, isn’t it? It’s something he has to accept, like he’s already accepted his death that looms on the horizon.

He can’t get out of bed one day, and that’s when he knows it’s time.

Willow rushes over with her wife, they manage to contact Hop just in time, who brings Sonia—the same age as Leon, but seeming much more spry—along with him. Cora even squeezes into the room with them and lays her head across his legs. There are tears, a lot of them. Leon gives them the biggest smile he can, hoping it can make them feel somewhat lighter.

“You’ll see me again,” he promises, his voice hoarse. Are there tears in his eyes as well? A life of excitement, adventure, and love finally coming to an end; even though he knows another life awaits him, it’s still… painfully sad. “I’ll be with da, you know. Okay? Don’t… cry too much for me.”

It’s no use, they’re all already crying. Leon manages the strength to move his arm and stroke Cora behind the horns. “Protect them all for me,” Leon murmurs to her. She hums low, the sound mournful. She will live a long, long, long time, and maybe one day she will tire of the mortal realm and join him with the gods. Maybe.

Finally, his eyes slip shut, he feels his mind fading, darkness creeping in, an odd sense of cold.

But then it’s like a rope is tugging him back. There is warmth, suddenly, and a familiar voice saying, _“It’s time to come home.”_

Leon’s eyes snap open. He’s not in his cabin anymore, he’s not in his bed, he’s not surrounded by his family. Instead, he’s lying in a field, warm in the sunlight. He squints up at the bright blue sky, brows furrowing. He’s having a bit of trouble moving, but once he does he realizes he feels so much more… alive. Leon lifts his hands to look at them, finding them devoid of wrinkles and spots. He touches his face and blinks, then finally shoots up so fast he gets a little dizzy.

One moment he was dying, the next…

“Leon.” Hands fall on his shoulders from behind, warm and heavy, and Leon jerks his head around to meet bright blue eyes that look at him with such an aching tenderness. It’s Raihan, looking as young as he did when Leon met him. Leon stares at him with wide eyes, and then he’s twisting around as best as he can in the grass.

It really happened. He really made it here, to the god’s realm. Raihan is here.

Like this, they’ll always be together.

“Am I dead?” Leon asks, his shaking hands holding Raihan’s face.

“Not exactly,” Raihan says. “Your mortal body, maybe. But now look at you.” Suddenly the scenery around them changes and they’re sitting beside a lake. It makes Leon dizzy at first, but he shakes the feeling away so he can properly look at his reflection in the clear water. He looks just as he did at twenty-one, his skin smooth and his eyes bright. Leon touches his face again. Raihan breathes, “Beautiful. But you never stopped being beautiful.”

“You don’t have to lie,” Leon laughs, watery.

“Not lying,” Raihan insists. “I mean it.”

Leon stares at him, still in a state of disbelief, but then he lunges forward and tackles Raihan to the ground, kissing him until they’re both breathless. He’s overcome with a sense of joy, relief, and so, so, so much love. Raihan holds him tight, kissing all over his face, whispering how much he loves him, how happy he is, how lovely and beautiful and breathtaking Leon is.

The Champion props himself up on his elbows with his hair spilling over one shoulder, hovering over Raihan who looks up at him with a grin.

“This will take some getting used to,” Leon says. “Am I immortal now?”

“Yes,” Raihan responds with a snicker. “Strange, isn’t it?”

“A little. Ah…” Leon sits up on Raihan’s hips. Raihan rests his hands on his thighs. “Where do I stay?”

“With me, of course,” Raihan says. “Though, there is a whole city in this realm with people a lot like you, if you’d rather—”

“No, I’ll stay with you,” Leon says. He reaches out, stroking Raihan’s cheek. “Always with you.”

“Forever,” Raihan breathes.

“Forever.”

They kiss again, remaining there for as long as they can until Raihan finally breaks away to say, “Let’s go. Everyone is dying to finally meet you.”

Leon smiles down at him. “Okay.”

Raihan surges up and Leon climbs out of his lap. When they stand, the god takes hold of his hand.

They meet in one more embrace, Leon breathes in Raihan’s scent, grounding him, letting him know this is real. This is all real.

When they finally bear to part, Raihan says, “Later, I’ll show you around.”

“I’ll still get lost,” Leon laughs.

“Not with me,” Raihan promises. His eyes are soft. “You’ll never be lost when I’m there.”

It’s true. He won’t be lost, in more than one sense of the word, with Raihan there.

This is how it’s always been meant to be. Planned by fate long before he was even born.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that's the end! i started crying writing the part where leon was getting old
> 
> thank you so much to everyone who read this and supported it despite the giant size of half the chapters lmao. i love this au a lot so i was happy to share it!
> 
> i have another raileon au in the works now that i've been screaming about on twitter, so keep an eye out!
> 
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/zhamusiel)   
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